Naga Chaitanya is currently shooting for director Chandoo Mondeti’s Thandel with Sai Pallavi. Talking about the film on Zig Wheels, the actor revealed the plot of the film, apart from what his and Sai’s characters in the film will be like. 

‘Thandel is inspired by a 2018 incident’

Talking about the film, Naga Chaitanya revealed that Thandel is inspired by the 2018 incident, when fishermen from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh drifted into Pakistan waters by mistake and were taken into custody. He said, “Thandel is a film I’ve been working on for quite some time; it’s a very special film for me. Firstly, I’ve never attempted this kind of character or texture. It’s based on some true incidents in 2018 involving these fishermen from Srikakulam. Usually, they go to Gujarat and go fishing from there. On one of their trips, they drifted off into Pakistan's borders and got caught.”

‘The love story in the film is real’

Chaitanya also revealed that he met the fishermen from Srikakulam who have been through this harrowing experience, stating that the love story in the film is also based on one of their love stories. “Their journey being in jail for a year and a half and how they come out is what the film is about. It’s an inspiring story. I met these fishermen, spent time with them, and learnt about what they went through,” he said, adding, “The love story me and Sai Pallavi feature in is also genuinely what happened. The real-life couple are now married. His wife fought for these fishermen and motivated the government to bring them back to India. I’m glad I got the opportunity to tell this story.”

About Thandel

Thandel is Chaitanya’s third film with Chandoo after Premam and Savyasachi and his second with Sai after Sekhar Kammula’s Love Story. The filmmakers released the ‘essence’ of the film in January this year, which hinted at the story. Thandel is presented by Allu Aravind’s Geetha Arts and produced by Bunny Vasu. Devi Sri Prasad is composing the film’s tunes while Shamdat is the cinematographer.

TeluguCinema

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