The curious case of a birthday party and a new Telugu film

Telugu film ‘The Birthday Boy’, sparked by real incidents that turned birthday revelry awry

A birthday celebration, a group of friends, and a freak incident turns their world upside down. The Telugu film The Birthday Boy, releasing in theatres on July 19, is inspired by a true story. Produced by Bharat Kumar and directed by a debutant who goes by the pseudonym Whisky, the film stars Ravi Krishna, Sameer Malla and Rajeev Kanakala.

The Birthday Boy is the debut venture for both Bharat and Whisky. They worked in the USA, pooled their savings and decided to make a film inspired by real incidents. At a media interaction, the director revealed that while the events that inspired this film occurred in 2016, he and Bharat took four years to begin working on the film, starting in 2020.

The film narrates the story of five Indian friends who move to the USA to pursue their higher studies. A freak incident changes the course of their lives. The Birthday Boy, they state, is a slice-of-life buddy comedy that deals with a serious issue. The makers opted for sync sound to aim at a close-to-reality narrative and the film traces events that occur in 48 hours.

As for the curious pseudonym Whisky, the director states that he chose to call himself thus in memory of his pet dog. The director’s public appearances sporting a mask has also drawn attention. To this, he states that his family members were not keen on him entering the film industry and hence, he chose a partially masked appearance.