We auditioned snakes for over five days and chose a Black Pine, says ‘Phani’ director V N Aditya

Director V N Aditya, the motion poster of whose upcoming global film ‘Phani’ featuring actress Catherine Tresa in the lead was launched here today, has now disclosed that the unit auditioned snakes for over five days before choosing a Black Pine to play a crucial role in his film.

Phani, which is being produced by Dr. Meenakshi Anipindi under the banner of OMG Productions and presented by AU & I Studio, features actress Catherine Tresa in the lead role with actor Mahesh Sriram playing a pivotal role.

The film is to be released in a number of languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

Legendary director K Raghavendra Rao unveiled the motion poster of the movie Phani at a press conference today in Hyderabad.

Speaking at the event, Director Dr VN Aditya said, “When my sister Meenakshi and brother-in-law Sastry offered to produce a film with me under their OMG Productions banner, I was initially scared. Other producers usually prepare well and come into the industry, but they just saw me and decided to get into production.”

Stating that he did all the preparations himself, the director went on to disclose that ‘Phani’ started as a small film.

“When actress Catherine Tresa agreed to be a part of this project, it took the film to another level, and ultimately, it became a global movie. Catherine has worked dedicatedly on our film and even participated in workshops. Mahesh Sriram has also been very cooperative.”

Disclosing that a snake plays a key role in the film, the director said, “We shot the entire movie in Dallas, marking it as the first Indian film completely filmed in the USA. Catherine initially had a fear of snakes, but she eventually became familiar with the one (Black Pine) used in the film. We aimed to give the snake a character of its own. So, we spent five days auditioning snakes, capturing every moment with three cameras and finally chose a Black Pine as our hero.”

Stating that the entire unit of ‘Phani’ was working passionately on the film, the director promised a grand theatrical release for the film.

Apart from Catherine Tresa, the film will feature Mahesh Sriram, Neha Krishna, Tanikella Bharani, Kashi Vishwanath, Ranjitha, Yogita, Prashanthi Aarti, Sanya, Akash, Anil Shankaramanchi, Kiran Gudipalli, Bala Karri and Dayakar, among others.

Music for the film is by Dr. Meenakshi Anipindi, who is also the Producer of the film. Cinematography for the film is by Bujji.K, Saikiran Ainampudi while editing is by Junaid.