Raj Nidimoru: ‘Maa Inti Bangaaram earned me greater appreciation than Stree, Family Man’

He went on to describe the uncertainty that comes with every new film, regardless of past success. “For me, making every film is a risk, because we create the stories and produce the films ourselves. We were genuinely scared about things like the OTT deal,” he said.

Talking about how Maa Inti Bangaaram was shaped around its lead actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, he added, “When we were designing the movie, we wanted to use her skill set to elevate the film, but we had budget constraints and a tight schedule. There was also a risk, because people were saying so many things about her at the time.”

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Raj Nidimoru also spoke about the process of getting Samantha on board for a film he had written with her specifically in mind, describing himself as the one pushing for the project to happen. “I was the one pushing her to make this film, and once she heard the story, she got excited about it,” he said, adding that the project did not have the backing of his industry connections outside the south. “I didn’t get any leverage from Bollywood for this. Samantha never wanted to make more films, but I asked her to do one more,” he said.

Asked whether he planned to continue making solo projects without Krishna DK, his usual creative partner, Raj Nidimoru said he had not given it serious thought yet. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. This was supposed to be a one time thing I did for Samantha. But DK and I will continue working together, because we have so much on our plate right now,” he said.

Maa Inti Bangaaram, directed by BV Nandini Reddy, has crossed Rs 50 crore at the worldwide box office since its release, and continues to draw new audiences.