After two decades of making Padamati Sandhya Ragam, a classic Telugu comedy film by Late Jandhyala, in
Washington DC, Manoranjan Movies, an independent film company in Washington, DC has embarked on a
Bollywood (Indian) style movie in Telugu (Indian) language.
The idea of movie making started in the minds of few local Washingtonians. They wanted to make a fresh,
clean and a feel good Telugu movie entirely in the US showing the lives of NRI’s – their struggle with day to
day activities to give their kids best of all worlds – NOT JUST BOTH WORLDS. Initially the idea was to make
a sequel of Padamati Sandhya Ragam but things did not work out as planned. That did not stop the local
enthusiasts. They kept moving forward fighting all odds and obstacles. Kalyani with her sisters Bhavani and
Prapoorna came up with a story for the movie which through grape vine landed in the hands of folks from the
Telugu movie industry. The story was altered to fit the big screen by writers from Tollywood. What started as
an independent movie grew to be a full fledged Tollywood film.
Blending a cast from Indian film industry, NRI’s, local US artists, and excellent technical crew from India, this
film depicts the love story of an Indian girl with an American Born Confirmed Desi - “NOT CONFUSED”. The
movie highlights Indian cultural ethos and the affinity between Indian and American values. It highlights the
contribution of expatriate Indians to uphold the torch of Indian culture and heritage in USA, while holding on to
the American way of life. Though a sweet love story, it deals with complexities of life like religion, traditions,
race, family bonds and language barriers.
More than 90% of the filming was done in and around the Washington DC metropolitan areas. Several
homes of NRI’s and Americans were used “as is” for shooting. The DC, MD, and VA film offices are extremely
helpful in getting location permits.
Movie making has its own challenges. If you are an amateur trying to make a film while maintaining a full time
job, managing your family chores, it makes it even more challenging. Dealing with people from different
cultural backgrounds, their attitudes, personalities, idio-syncrasies and taking care of production activities
along with the full time job was the hardest thing ever to do. The crew comprising of 20 people from India
were taken care for about 2 months. The local enthusiasts rented homes to accommodate them, with 2 full-
time cooks, and help from lot of local friends with day-to-day logistics.
Each and every individual on the scene and behind the scenes worked extremely hard. Things for the shoot
would fall in place in the last minute. The producers and Mr. Saradhi believed that there was some force
behind all this that made the filming during the months of March and April successful.
This also was a great opportunity for local US artists and Indian origin actors/actresses to enter the Indian
film industry. Several others interested in the movie business got exposed to the art of film making. IT SURE
WAS AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFE TIME.
Washington DC, Manoranjan Movies, an independent film company in Washington, DC has embarked on a
Bollywood (Indian) style movie in Telugu (Indian) language.
The idea of movie making started in the minds of few local Washingtonians. They wanted to make a fresh,
clean and a feel good Telugu movie entirely in the US showing the lives of NRI’s – their struggle with day to
day activities to give their kids best of all worlds – NOT JUST BOTH WORLDS. Initially the idea was to make
a sequel of Padamati Sandhya Ragam but things did not work out as planned. That did not stop the local
enthusiasts. They kept moving forward fighting all odds and obstacles. Kalyani with her sisters Bhavani and
Prapoorna came up with a story for the movie which through grape vine landed in the hands of folks from the
Telugu movie industry. The story was altered to fit the big screen by writers from Tollywood. What started as
an independent movie grew to be a full fledged Tollywood film.
Blending a cast from Indian film industry, NRI’s, local US artists, and excellent technical crew from India, this
film depicts the love story of an Indian girl with an American Born Confirmed Desi - “NOT CONFUSED”. The
movie highlights Indian cultural ethos and the affinity between Indian and American values. It highlights the
contribution of expatriate Indians to uphold the torch of Indian culture and heritage in USA, while holding on to
the American way of life. Though a sweet love story, it deals with complexities of life like religion, traditions,
race, family bonds and language barriers.
More than 90% of the filming was done in and around the Washington DC metropolitan areas. Several
homes of NRI’s and Americans were used “as is” for shooting. The DC, MD, and VA film offices are extremely
helpful in getting location permits.
Movie making has its own challenges. If you are an amateur trying to make a film while maintaining a full time
job, managing your family chores, it makes it even more challenging. Dealing with people from different
cultural backgrounds, their attitudes, personalities, idio-syncrasies and taking care of production activities
along with the full time job was the hardest thing ever to do. The crew comprising of 20 people from India
were taken care for about 2 months. The local enthusiasts rented homes to accommodate them, with 2 full-
time cooks, and help from lot of local friends with day-to-day logistics.
Each and every individual on the scene and behind the scenes worked extremely hard. Things for the shoot
would fall in place in the last minute. The producers and Mr. Saradhi believed that there was some force
behind all this that made the filming during the months of March and April successful.
This also was a great opportunity for local US artists and Indian origin actors/actresses to enter the Indian
film industry. Several others interested in the movie business got exposed to the art of film making. IT SURE
WAS AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFE TIME.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Sangamam |
| Manoranjan Movies, Inc. Washington, DC presents |