Director Shouryuv on ‘Hi Nanna’: It is a tender story and an emotional ride

Director Shouryuv on Nani, Mrunal Thakur’s ‘Hi Nanna’: It is a tender story and an emotional ride. Hesham Abdul Wahab’s score is magical. The film also stars child actor Kiara, Shruti Haasan and Angad Bedi

Shouryuv, aka Koduri Yuvaraj Shourya Simha, the director of the Telugu movie Hi Nanna, starring Nani, Mrunal Thakur and baby Kiara, which releases on December 7, is amused by fan theories that try to decode the film from its promos. “After the first promo, I remember reading a tweet that it is a time travel story; later there were comparisons with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. If the teaser had the vibe of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, it is because I wanted the viewers to feel that way. More than promos and teaser, which serve to keep the buzz alive, I believe in the trailer game. The trailer will give viewers about 80% idea of the story,” he says in this interview with The Hindu at Vyra Entertainments’ office in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

Shouryuv describes the film as a tender, emotional story with a father-daughter bond at its centre. Hi Nanna was filmed in Hyderabad, Mumbai and if the promos have the finesse of advertisement films, it is by design. “Nani plays Viraj, an established photographer on the lines of someone like Daboo Ratnani. He is doing well financially, is artistically inclined, and has designed his house. We wanted that aesthetics to reflect on screen.” Avinash Kolla’s production design and Sanu John Varghese’s cinematography align with this aesthetics.

Hi Nanna is Mrunal’s second Telugu film after Sita Ramam. Shouryuv had zeroed in on Mrunal after watching the Hindi sports drama Toofaan (2021). It is a dream team, says Shouryuv about his film that also stars Jayaram and Priyadarshi. So far, the characters played by Shruti Haasan and Angad Bedi have been kept under wraps. 

The film is pitched as a Hesham Abdul Wahab musical. “We have nine to 10 songs, and with the film releasing in five languages, it works up to 50 songs in all,” says Shouryuv, mentioning that he took time out for this interview in the few hours he got between finalising the background score with Hesham. “This is his best work to date. The background score is magical and I cannot wait to show the audience what we have created. Hesham visited the sets in Mumbai and we had a few discussions. Later he got busy with several film offers and couldn’t spend much time on the sets.”

The songs drive the narrative forward, says Shouryuv, adding that he took the liberty of adding one song purely for entertainment. “I felt the film was becoming too emotional and used one song to lighten the mood. Otherwise, we stuck to doing what was absolutely required for the film. Hi Nanna is a viable film for the box office but not a regular mainstream film.”

It has taken Shouryuv seven years to make his directorial debut. Hailing from Visakhapatnam, he has an MBBS degree from Maharajah Institute of Medical Sciences, Vizianagaram, after which he moved to Hyderabad to pursue filmmaking. “Cinema has always been my first love; it is home. I have aspired to be a part of cinema since class seven.” 

Knowing the vagaries of the film industry, his mother insisted that he complete his studies. Once Shouryuv completed his MBBS, he informed his mother that he intended to try his luck in cinema. “She thought I would have forgotten about cinema while studying MBBS,” he says with a laugh.