Vishnu Manchu: Lord Shiva Chose Me To Tell The Story of 'Kannappa' to This Generation

There have been several iterations of Kannappa, based on the second-century legend of the Shiva devotee. What makes Vishnu Manchu’s Kannappa, his upcoming Telugu language epic sheathed with a coveted casting including Prabhas, Mohanlal, and Akshay Kumar, different? Manchu, the film’s writer, producer and lead actor playing the titular role, says that he found Kannappa’s trajectory — the one where he goes from being an atheist to the biggest devotee of Lord Shiva — fascinating. 

“All versions tell us what Kannappa's story would've or could've been. But the last 30 to 40 minutes of any such film, which cover the portions of God testing him, would be similar because you'll have to follow what’s in the scriptures,” Manchu tells The Hollywood Reporter India. “The most difficult part of doing the film was the fact that everyone knows the ending. The challenge was to see how to make audiences sit for the earlier two-and-half hours."

Prabhas and Vishnu Manchu in 'Kannappa'

The film co-starring Preity Mukundhan, Mohan Babu, Sarathkumar, and Kaja Aggarwal, will be released in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi on June 27. The idea with a pan-Indian film is also often to just make a good film, Manchu notes. “When I spoke to Anil Thadani (popular film distributor) before going to New Zealand for filming, he said there's only one thing I should keep in mind. ‘Make it a regular Telugu movie,’ he said. As long as you make a good film, it will resonate with everyone across the world. Why else would a Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings resonate with everyone? Or a movie like Maharaja (2024) will be lapped up by everyone? The minute you think you're going to release it all over the country, for which you have to do many things, that's when you might make a misstep.”

Excerpts from an interview:

Can you take us through Kannappa’s seven-year-long journey?

I started in 2014 when someone told me the script, and I bought it and worked on it. I completed about six films along the way, but I did a lot of homework, hoping that I'd make Kannappa one day. In January 2023, when we decided I'd make it, everything fell into place. By the end of August, we began filming because 80 per cent of the pre-production work was done before that.

What about the Shiva devotee story drew you to make the film? 

History has recorded that an atheist became Lord Shiva's devotee. We knew this, but why was he an atheist? What triggered him to become a believer? This is something I was curious about. I've been to his birthplace, Utkoor, in Andhra Pradesh. Then I did a lot of trips to the Kalahasthi temple, and that's where we realised this is what would've been his mindset. The story is about unconditional love. When you bend down your head and accept Lord Shiva, there is no going back. 

How did you go about incorporating an atheist’s viewpoint into the film?

The devotion part was the easiest to write and incorporate. But being an atheist, he had to be corrected in between. He couldn’t have gone unchecked at a time when everyone revered the Gods in the second or third century, when superstition was at its peak. How did he get away with it? What were the repercussions of an explosion of his behaviour? We worked on all his personal dilemmas.

What were the challenges you faced as a producer, filming such a big-budget pan-India feature with a coveted cast? 

It was the regular production hassles. When I sat down in the editing room, I realised ‘Wow, did I pull this off?’ It hit me hard. The only challenge I faced was from the VFX department. We lack proper VFX producers and supervisors in India. Out of 100, there are probably 10 who are good. I felt so embarrassed by the workflow of the VFX. I am a Pro-Chancellor at the Mohan Babu University (a private university in Andhra Pradesh founded by his father, Babu), so I've sat down with my team, and we are now starting an Undergraduate VFX programme, aiming to churn out some of the finest supervisors from India. 

Akshay Kumar in 'Kannappa'

How was it working with the cast?

With Akshay Kumar, I learnt a lot about his professionalism. With Prabhas, it was very chill because he's like a brother to me. I also had the honour of working with my childhood hero, Mr Mohanlal. I had a scene with him where I had to give a lengthy two-page dialogue, and we wanted to do a single-take. I told the director I'll pull it off. After I finished, I was still leaning down, and we were at the edge of a mountain. He took two steps forward and said, 'You did a good job, my boy,' and walked back. It took me a couple of minutes to come back to my senses. I was getting praised by a legend.

In a film like this, how does one strike a balance between giving all the stars the screen time they deserve, and making sure that their presence enriches the movie? 

You have to make sure the characters are so strong that the people can't imagine anybody else in this role. I have to satisfy the fans of these actors; one wrong move, and I'll never be able to set foot in Kerala! I don't want Mohanlal, Prabhas or Akshay Kumar fans to say, ‘Why are they doing such roles?’ Stars like this will bring more attention to Kannappa, but I also wanted to justify that. Writing, editing and filming were easy. But promoting this was difficult. I needed to give equal importance to all of them in the posters. Although I'm the lead of this film, they are far bigger stars than me. 

With Kannappa, is the goal to reach an audience that's grown up listening to Kannappa's story or is it to reach a newer generation?

Lord Shiva chose me to tell the story of Kannappa to this generation. It's good for this generation to question. From questioning whether God is there, there comes an answer for each of us. Our relationship with God is very sacred and private; only when you question, do you get the answer.