A week before the release of Venkat Prabhu’s Telugu directorial debut Custody, the makers conducted a press meet on Friday. The trailer of the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film was launched during the event. Notably, Custody marks Naga Chaitanya’s debut in Tamil.
Director Venkat Prabhu, who has so far directed 10 Tamil films, said, “Custody, my 11th film, is the most expensive film I have made. I chose to make it a Tamil-Telugu bilingual because, Naga Chaitanya is relevant in the Telugu industry, while I am here.” He added that every scene in the film has been filmed twice, once in Telugu and once more in Tamil.
When asked if the audience can expect the usual entertainment provided by a Venkat Prabhu film, the director shared, “Unlike the usual entertaining factor in my previous films, Custody will amuse you in an unexpected way.” Further, as the film is a complete actioner, the director added, ” The film has drained us a lot, physically. It kept us on the run.”
Naga Chaitanya reminisced the time when Venkat narrated the story to him. “When Venkat Prabhu narrated the one-liner of Custody to me two years ago, I remember hugging him as soon as he completed the narration. Now, after the final edit also, I hugged him, because he has given me a great film.” More so, he also expressed his gratitude for sharing screen space with Sarathkumar and Aravind Swami.
Krithi Shetty, who will be seen as the female lead alongside Chaithanya in Custody, said, “Initially I only used to visit Chennai for award shows. I used to see how much love and respect Venkat Prabhu received in such gatherings. When he offered me Custody, I was more than happy to do the film.” Additionally, she also said that she learnt the Tamil language for the film, but did not dub for herself.
While other cast members such as Arvind Swami, Sharath Kumar and Priyamani were not present, comedian and Venkat Prabhu’s brother Premgi was in attendance. In his usual jovial manner, he revealed, “I fought with my brother to get a chance in this film. He wanted to cast Telugu actors in the film.” He then added that Vennela Kishore has played his role in the Telugu version of Custody.
Custody has cinematography by SR Kathir and music scored Ilayarajaa and his son Yuvan Shankar Raja. Editing by Venkat Raajen and production design by Rajeevan. The film is slated for release on May 12.