Producer Naveen Yerneni revealed that Pawan Kalyan shot 24 to 48-hour stretches for Ustaad Bhagat Singh.
The team also explained why they didn't hike ticket prices in Telangana despite approaching the Supreme Court on the issue.
With Pawan Kalyan’s Ustaad Bhagat Singh releasing on March 19, the film’s team gathered for a press interaction on Wednesday, leading up to the Ugadi release.
The most talked-about revelation came from Mythri Movie Makers producer Naveen Yerneni, who disclosed that after collecting a nominal advance at the start of the project, Pawan Kalyan chose not to take any further remuneration for the film.
“Nobody would believe us,” Yerneni said, adding that Pawan shot for extremely long hours, sometimes pushing through 24 to 48-hour stretches without a break.
Naveen also addressed the controversy around ticket pricing.
To give some background: the Telangana High Court had issued an order restricting special ticket price hikes for 90 days, which Mythri Movie Makers challenged in the Supreme Court and received a stay on.
Despite winning that legal battle, the production house ultimately decided not to implement a hike in Telangana for this film.
He explained that after the court’s decision came through, they simply did not get the time to set up a meeting with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to formally negotiate and process the hike.
“Rather than delay the release while waiting for that meeting to happen, we chose to go ahead with regular ticket prices,” he said.
Notably, the producers had also wanted to implement only a flexible pricing model limited to select premium multiplex screens, not a blanket hike across all cinemas.
On the subject of premiere shows, Naveen Yerneni said there would be no night premiere shows the evening before release.
His reasoning was straightforward: since March 19 is a public holiday on account of Ugadi, there is no need for a late-night premiere the previous day.
He wanted audiences to walk into the film on the festival morning itself.
The release date itself had also shifted recently.
The team originally planned for March 26 but moved it forward to March 19 at the request of distributors, partly because the competing release Toxic had moved out of that date, clearing the window.
Also Read: Dhurandhar 2 Movie Review LIVE Updates: Ranveer Singh-starrer’s non-Hindi preview shows cancelled amid dubbing issues, refunds initiated
A commercial entertainer Pawan Kalyan has not done in a decade
Harish Shankar spoke with some excitement about the tone of the film.
He described Ustaad Bhagat Singh as a hardcore commercial entertainer in the classic mass-movie mould, the kind of film that Pawan Kalyan’s core audience grew up watching but has not really seen from him in the last ten years or so.
One specific point Harish made was about Pawan laughing on screen, something the director says he deliberately worked into the film, since that lighter, joyful side of the actor has been largely absent from his recent projects.
“When I started to work on this film, I made up my mind to make a film that has repeat value.
As a hardcore fan of Pawan Kalyan myself, this movie will be an eye-feast to his fans.
Harish Shankar also addressed one of the production’s more interesting behind-the-scenes stories: the change in who scored the film’s background music.
Devi Sri Prasad, who is credited with composing the film’s songs, was the original choice throughout.
However, at some point in post-production, S.
Thaman was brought in to handle the background score, which is a separate and significant component of any mass entertainer.
Harish said, “I had to personally request Thaman to take on the work, and Thaman stepped in and worked non-stop for 10 to 12 days to finish it within the deadline.”
A short video from the film’s pre-release event at Hyderabad ’s Yousufguda Police Grounds had gone viral, showing Sree Leela turning around abruptly towards comedian-actor Mahesh Achanta who was standing behind her on the stage during Pawan Kalyan’s speech.
Online speculation, as it usually goes, ran wild, with some claiming she had turned to reprimand him for using his phone while Pawan was speaking.
At the press meet, Sree Leela set the record straight.
“I had given Mahesh Achanta her phone to hold before going on stage.
When I turned around, I was simply checking where he was because she wanted her phone back.
Nothing more,” she explained.
Mahesh Achanta had already clarified the same on his own social media.
Sree Leela used the moment to make a broader point: “This is a pattern in the industry where a brief, context-free clip gets picked up and aired with a completely different narrative attached to it.”
The project was formally announced in 2021 under the working title Bhavadeeyudu Bhagat Singh before being renamed.
However, Naveen clarified, “The actual shooting for the film did not begin until 2023, and even then, only a 10-day schedule was completed.
The project then stalled for over a year due to various reasons, including Harish Shankar directing another film in between.
Shooting resumed in June 2025 and was wrapped up within roughly a year.
The film then moved into post-production in January 2026, with dubbing and background score work completed by February.”
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
Related Stories
Source: This article was originally published by The Indian Express
Read Full Original Article →
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Leave a Comment