Audience Love Made Chennai Love Story a ₹50 Crore Blockbuster: Story Writer & Producer Sai Rajesh
Story writer, director, and producer Sai Rajesh is celebrating the success of Chennai Love Story, which has crossed the ₹50 crore gross mark at the box office. The film, produced by Sai Rajesh and SKN, continues to perform strongly in its second week. During a media interaction, Sai Rajesh spoke about the film's journey, his career, future projects, and the overwhelming response from audiences.
Sai Rajesh revealed that he once worked under the name Steven Shankar while directing Hrudaya Kaleyam and Kobbarimatta. Inspired by Steven Spielberg and director Shankar, he chose the name to create a unique identity. However, before Colour Photo, he decided to use his real name given by his parents. Interestingly, the lead character played by Kiran Abbavaram in Chennai Love Story was named Steven Shankar, bringing the name back into the spotlight.
He clarified that he never planned to direct Chennai Love Story. While he was busy with the Hindi remake of Baby, the project faced delays. Since the music work for Chennai Love Story had already begun, he decided to produce the film and entrusted the direction to Ravi.
Speaking about audience reactions, Sai Rajesh said watching premiere shows is always stressful. During films like Colour Photo, Baby, and Chennai Love Story, there were scenes where he expected emotional reactions, but the audience remained silent because they were deeply absorbed. He believes viewers often take a couple of days to fully connect with emotionally driven films.
He also addressed the negative campaign the film faced during its initial release. According to him, social media was filled with claims that audiences were rejecting the film. However, he said the box office collections proved otherwise, as the film went on to gross over ₹50 crore. He added that the team responded by promoting genuine positive feedback from viewers, which helped the film gain momentum.
Sai Rajesh praised director Ravi for his work on the film. He said that after watching the interval sequence during production, he realized Ravi had handled the film exceptionally well, even beyond what he had imagined. He mentioned that his own contribution was mainly during the story and music stages, and the film was released with complete confidence.
He described Chennai Love Story as one of the most satisfying stories he has written, even more than Colour Photo and Baby. According to him, the film's emotional twists and shocking moments connected strongly with audiences. He also shared that a few scenes were inspired as a tribute to the classic Mouna Ragam. Many emotions in his films, he said, come from real-life experiences. While his own love story ended happily, the emotional pain he experienced helped him write such stories. He also revealed that Colour Photo was largely inspired by incidents from his college days.
Reflecting on his early career, Sai Rajesh said that when he entered the industry, newcomers struggled to gain attention unless they had stars or major production houses backing them. That is why he intentionally created controversy around Hrudaya Kaleyam to attract audiences. If today's acceptance of content-driven cinema had existed back then, he said he would have started his career with Colour Photo.
He clarified that no major changes were made to Chennai Love Story after its release apart from minor sound level adjustments in the second half. He also said that if talented directors can do justice to his stories, he is happy to support them as a writer and producer.
Sai Rajesh revealed that veteran filmmaker Bhagyaraj was initially considered for a role in the film, but scheduling issues prevented the collaboration. He hopes to work with him in the future.
Talking about music, he said working with legendary composers is every filmmaker's dream. He shared that he and music director Mani Sharma spent an entire day listening to Ilaiyaraaja's songs before composing for the film, aiming to recreate the same emotional impact. Mani Sharma appreciated Sai Rajesh's understanding of Ilaiyaraaja's music.
Looking back at Baby, Sai Rajesh called it the turning point of his career. He believes that if the film had not become a success, neither his career nor Chennai Love Story would have reached where they are today.
Providing an update on the Hindi remake of Baby, he said only around 20 days of shooting remain and the film is expected to wrap up by the end of September. Unlike the Telugu version, he said the Hindi adaptation features more intense characterizations.
Sai Rajesh also expressed gratitude to Megastar Chiranjeevi, who personally congratulated him through a message after Chennai Love Story became a ₹50 crore grosser. He shared that the message was one of the happiest moments of his career. He also revealed that Allu Arjun is expected to watch the film soon.
Apart from filmmaking, Sai Rajesh spoke about his responsibilities within the industry. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Directors' Association and was recently elected as the Vice President of the Film Federation. He said he intends to work towards improving welfare measures and securing better minimum wages for film workers.
Concluding the interaction, Sai Rajesh said he greatly admires writers Mullapudi Venkata Ramana and Yandamuri Veerendranath, while the grey-shaded characters in K. Balachander's films continue to inspire him. He also confirmed that he will officially announce his next Telugu directorial project after October this year.
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