17 June,2025 07:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Priyanka Sharma
Vishnu Manchu plays the titular role in the film. Pics/AFP, Yogen Shah, Instagram
Actor Vishnu Manchu had a clear inspiration in mind when he began developing Kannappa over a decade ago. "I was thinking on the scale of The Lord of the Rings," he says of the script that he first began writing with screenwriter Tanikella Bharani. "After a few months, Bharani told me that he did not feel cut out to make a larger-than-life film. So, in 2015, he gave me the script to develop further," recalls Manchu, who locked the script only by 2019.
Mukesh Kumar Singh's directorial venture is inspired by the legend of Lord Shiva's devotee Kannappa. As Manchu set out to mount the expansive project, he adhered to his thumb rule. "Don't change the script when you are filming. [On set], improvisations can keep happening. But for me, changing the script is a sacrilege."
Kannappa boasts cameos by Mohanlal, Akshay Kumar, and Prabhas. How difficult was it to assemble a cast that other producers can only dream of? Manchu, whose father Mohan Babu has produced the movie, says, "The stars agreeing to do the roles is Lord Shiva's blessing. I had one name in mind for each character. Everything fell
in place."
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Telling a mythological story is an uphill task today, with people often blaming the makers for hurting their religious sentiments. The sensitivity demanded while making such a project isn't lost on the actor. "You have to be very careful because you're making a movie about Lord Shiva. You cannot mess around with people's sentiments. But when you make a movie with devotion and honesty, even if there's a mistake, people will excuse you. As far as I know, I've stayed true to the subject. Exploring such subjects is not risky; otherwise, Mahabharat [2013 serial] wouldn't have come out."
The Bollywood-vs-South debate has heated up in the past few years, with Hindi films' lacklustre run becoming all the more glaring in the face of South blockbusters. Mention this to Manchu, and he says, "I think the media has been critical of and unkind to the Hindi film industry. There is no success formula. You can't explain why the Tamil film Maharaja [2024] made a mark. Or why Sanam Teri Kasam [2016] made over R20 crore on its re-release. No film industry has a foolproof method."
