Sushmita Konidela on Waltair Veerayya: The challenge was to ensure Chiranjeevi’s vintage avatar was trendy too

As Waltair Veerayya hits screens, the producer-cum-costume designer considers herself a Chiranjeevi fan first and his daughter only later

Sushmita Konidela

Sushmita Konidela, daughter to veteran star Chiranjeevi, dons multiple hats - a producer and a costume designer. Much of the credit that Chiranjeevi is getting for his look and costumes in his latest release Waltair Veerayya is due to the painstaking efforts of Sushmita and her innate understanding of her father’s image among his fans. In a media interaction, she shares her views on working for the entertainer.

Sushmita states the film’s director Bobby Kolli and she were on the page during the script-narration stage. The port-based backdrop, Waltair and a fisherman character gave her a vibe of how the film would look like. “The director wanted a look that’ll remind audiences of Gang Leader, Mutha Mestri et al. Having watched most of his films, it didn’t demand much out of me honestly.”

“I always discuss costumes with dad. With his experience, he is very aware of how he should like on the screen. After taking his inputs, we devised a design for the lungi, shades and the various accessories of the character. The challenge was to keep the look vintage and yet stay in tune with trends, keeping youngsters in mind. We took care of the balance and the results are showing,” she says.

Waltair Veerayya is comfort zone for Chiranjeevi, Sushmita admits. “He was at ease on the screen and it was like a festive celebration. Heading to the set every day was very exciting. My mom, Surekha, too shared her views on the look and her inputs are important to me. Ram Charan too chips in with his ideas.” Sushmita says she’s Chiranjeevi’s fan first and his daughter later.

“I am an unapologetic fan of Chiranjeevi and I enjoy watching him on the screen. I was with the entire team of Waltair Veerayya watching the fan’s show at 4 am. I was like any other fan in the theatre, whistling, shouting and celebrating it like a festival,” Sushmita states. She mentions of being in awe with his fitness levels, focus on health and the determination and commitment to his job.

“Dad is always young at heart and with his looks too. We only had to play the catchup game with the costumes,” she states. Will Sushmita, the producer, team up with Chiranjeevi soon? “Who wouldn’t want to? That’s every producer’s dream. Like he says to every producer, he told me, ‘Bring me a good story and I’ll do it immediately.’ We are also hunting for that dream script.

She’s also designing the look for Chiranjeevi in the Meher Ramesh directorial Bholaa Shankar. “We’re also working on a couple of web shows as well and are planning a few other projects. Sridevi Sobhan Babu, the film under my banner, will release in theatres soon.” Sushmita established her production house Gold Box Entertainment, along with her husband Vishnu Prasad, in 2019.

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