In 1974, the film Kannappanunni was in theaters in Chennai and the ticket price was 50 paisa.
Raju Gopi started his peanuts business with Rs 5,000 in hand 28 years ago, but always had a dream to make a film.
Malayalam producer Raju Gopi Chitteth’s latest film Santacruz was released in theatres on July 1. Noorin Sharif plays the lead role in the movie, which is based on the journey of a dance troupe from Kerala. Recently at an event for the promotion of the movie producer Gopi revealed how tough it was for him to complete this project and his video is going viral.
Raju Gopi said his film is the result of his hard work and he started planning about the movie only with Rs 5,000 in his pocket. The producer also disclosed that in the past when he was operating his peanuts business, he had a strong desire to make a movie once.
“My mother-in-law gave me Rs 5,000 twenty eight years ago. I started a business with that money. During the period 1974-76, I did the kapalandi (peanuts) business in Chennai,” revealed Raju Gopi.
In 1974, the film Kannappanunni was in theaters in Chennai and the ticket price was 50 paisa. Raju Gopi eagerly wanted to watch the film. He went 14 times but didn’t get a ticket. Later he got the ticket, but when it was the interval he walked out thinking the film was over. He had a dream to make movies since then.
“I had no support from anyone and did this all alone. Everyone questioned my ability to make it work with fresh faces. I said it was not a problem and I still have my own business. I will do it for a living. I am a jack of all trades,” he further added.
Santacruz is comparable to Bollywood dance films like ABCD and Dil To Pagal Hai, which portray stories of love and rivalry in the backdrop of dance competitions. There is also a dance-off in the style of Madhuri Dixit and Karishma Kapoor in the film. The story of the film is completely based on friendship, love and rivalry.
