Interview: We visualised none but Samantha as Yashoda, say Hari-Harish

Ahead of the release, the directors shared their thoughts with South First about the film and oozed confidence about winning the game. Excerpts from the interview:

Q. In an interview, Samantha said that Yashoda is based on real events. What inspired you to write the story?

A. Hari: We wrote this story based on an article we read in a newspaper. It exposed the truth and facts related to the medical mafia and surrogacy. During the Covid lockdowns, many poor women became surrogate mothers.

Harish: This story is about those mothers who delivered children only to overcome their financial crisis. We learnt that they were paid double the amount if they conceived twins. We added a good dose of emotion to the plot and wrote the script.

Q. Has this script been specially written for Samantha?

A. Harish: Yes, it has been our dream to work with Samantha. We wrote the story keeping her in mind. We did not think of anyone else for the role of Yashoda.

Q. We heard that you thought of making a low-budget film. But now, Yashoda is the biggest-budget movie you ever made. What happened?

A. Harish: Initially, we thought of making Yashoda with a budget of ₹2-3 crore. When we narrated the storyline to Senthil sir, our executive producer, he suggested that we should not compromise on the budget.

Then, we approached producer Sivalenka Krishna Prasad of Sridevi Movies for his opinion.

He liked the script and decided to release the movie in multiple languages. Accordingly, he roped in a huge cast and handed over the project to us.

Extremely nervous and especially excited! One day to go. Mee andhariki Yashoda nachchalani gattiga korukuntunna. Good vibes to my directors, producer, cast and entire crew as they wait like me for your verdict tomorrow. All fingers and toes crossed. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽#YashodaFromTomorrow pic.twitter.com/SxhIe9sJlR

— Samantha (@Samanthaprabhu2) November 10, 2022

Q. Did Samantha’s health condition affect the shooting?

A. Harish: We were never told about her health condition. One day, after finishing an action sequence, we learnt that Samantha was down with fever. But, despite being unwell, she completed the action scene and left, as if it was just a normal day.

In fact, we came to know about her suffering from Myositis only during the dubbing process and were utterly shocked. She’s a true professional!

Hari: Samantha never bothered us. To be honest, if requested, she would attend the shoot/promotions even now.

Even during post-production work, she often used to check with us if we were “satisfied with the shot”. She is a devoted actor.

Q. Are there any songs in Yashoda?

A. Yes, there are a couple of bit songs that play according to the situation. Mani Sharma did an excellent job here. He also composed brilliant background music. This is the first time we teamed up with him and it’s been quite an experience.

Hero ❤️@Samanthaprabhu2#Yashoda #YashodaOnNov11th pic.twitter.com/7yMFJtmRst

— Vidya Sivalenka (@vidyasivalenka) November 10, 2022

Q. Please tell us about the experience of working with producer Sivalenka Krishna Prasad and other crew.

A. Harish: A lot needs to be said about him. He gave everything that the film needed, without saying “no”.

We visited many hotels to check if we could set up a surrogacy clinic on their premises, but in vain. That’s when Krishna Prasad came forward to erect a costly set.

Also, he roped in every actor that we suggested. He gave us whatever was needed for the film.

Mani Sharma, Marthand K Venkatesh, and Sukumar are big names in the industry. Despite his seniority, Mani Sharma gave us the freedom to be ourselves.

Editing by Marthand was crispy. Casting director Pushpa did her best in picking the right actors for the roles.