Telugu star and producer Vishnu Manchu is gearing up for the release of his upcoming movie, Ginna. The movie, helmed by Surya, also features Payal Rajput and Sunny Leone. The movie is a wholesome entertainment package with masala, thrill, comedy, action and drama rolled into one. The movie will release in theatres on October 21 in Telugu, Hindi (as Ginna Bhai), and Malayalam. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Vishnu talks about Ginna, and more. Excerpts:
Tell us more about Ginna.
It is produced by my father, Mohan Babu, by our production house. The movie brings me back into the action-comedy fold, which is my forte. The genre has given me huge success. However, for the last four-five years, I haven’t done action comedy. I am back with a thriller and quite excited about how it will turn out.
There was a debate about theatres losing their charm due to the increasing popularity of OTT. What’s your take?
After the pandemic, there was a certain fear that nobody will watch movies in theatres. However, people will go to theatres only if the movie is good. For example, Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, people watched it. The audience will probably not watch every film in the theatre. But to think theatres are dead is wrong. Going to the theatres is an effort and also expensive. So, if you are making an effort to watch a movie in the theatres it has to be worth it.
Do you think the era of hero worship is over?
The era of hero worship will be there even later. I watched Tom Cruise’s new Top Gun in Hyderabad. The audience was clapping for all the sequences. Later, when I was in Los Angeles, it was the same scene there as well – people clapping and shouting when Cruise was on screen. There are a few heroes who are loved. For this movie, I am going to make the audience laugh and also shock them. You want to enjoy and carry the memory back home... This is what the movie will create.
Would you credit the director for bringing you back into the genre with Ginna?
Yes, definitely. The credit goes to Surya; he is new. The writer, Konna Venkat, was the one who pushed me to do the movie. I was reluctant at first. But they met my dad and asked him to persuade me to do the movie. My dad heard the script and asked me to do the movie.
How was it working with Sunny Leone?
Sunny Leone plays one of the lead roles. She is a very committed and professional actor. I haven’t watched her movies much. She is a surprise package in the movie and will shock everyone. When I heard about Sunny being a part of the movie, I was like ‘Why Sunny? She doesn’t have many movies under her belt. She is not known in Hyderabad’. But the writer explained the character he had sketched for Sunny and my father felt she would be the right choice. Sunny is also doing action in the movie. Payal and Sunny are going to be there in the entire movie. However, the action sequences are limited to a few scenes. The climax will shock everybody.
What are you working on next?
There is a movie which I am doing with Sreenu. I did my superhit cult film, D, with him. We have locked the script and I will hear it again in November. Once we finalise the script, it will go on the floors in February. It’s going to be an action comedy film. Currently, my mindset is in accordance with what the audience loves to watch. I am a businessman. So as much as I am passionate about them, my movies also need to make money.
