‘The moment I watched the teaser I was astonished.’
After the blockbuster success of last year’s Hanu-Man, Teja Sajja returns with yet another pan-India action-adventure film, Mirai.
The Hindi version of Mirai will be presented by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions that had earlier backed South titles like the Baahubali franchise, The Ghazi Attack and Devara: Part 1.
At the promotional event in Mumbai, Karan hailed Director Karthik Gattamneni for his “amazing vision” and praised Teja for his “incredible hard work”.
“I firmly believe the kind of technical finesse, the kind of passion to tell a story of this magnitude is something I am not even sure I am capable of,” Karan said.
“When I see filmmakers like Karthik tell these stories, I feel like I am a student more than filmmaker.”
Karan said Mirai was made on a limited budget but it has a “vision of 1,000 crore”.
“The moment I watched the teaser on the big screen and saw a few portions of the film, I was astonished. Getting that kind of output on such a low budget is something that deserves to be praised on a big stage,” Karan added.
“This is like chance pe dance. Someone else has put in hard work and you come in the end and attach your name to it. This is not our hard work, this is their josh, junoon and lagan,” he said with a smile praising team Mirai.
WATCH: Karan Johar on why star-driven films are failing at the box office.
Teja, who was meeting the Mumbai media for the first time, said he always feels nervous at press events.
“I haven’t prepared a speech today, I just want to talk dil khol ke,” the actor said.
“There was a limitation in terms of budget, but our dreams were not small. We have very big dreams. We want Mirai to look like the biggest Indian film out there.”
WATCH: Why Teja Sajja wants to do movies based on Indian culture
The Mirai trailer shows Teja as a commoner who becomes the chosen one to save the world from an evil force.
Manchu Manoj plays the antagonist alongside Jagapathi Babu and Shriya Saran in key roles.
Teja expressed his excitement about his new film and describes it as “action, adventure, fantasy, devotion, and emotion” rolled into one.
WATCH: Karan Johar talks about stories he grew up with.
Cinematographer-turned-director Karthik Gattamneni, known for Telugu films like Surya vs Surya and Eagle, said Mirai is his “most ambitious film”.
“Mirai means future, but we gave it a fictional sound. It has a different meaning in the film. You will understand the context when you watch the film,” the director said.
Mirai arrives in cinemas on September 12.
