Arjun Reddy fame Vijay Deverakonda on upcoming film Taxiwaala: ‘It’s a product of a mad team’

Following his groundbreaking performance as a self-destructive, alcoholic surgeon in last year’s Telugu film Arjun Reddy, actor Vijay Deverakonda is gearing up for his next release, Taxiwaala, directed by Rahul Sankrityan. The film’s teaser was unveiled in an event in Hyderabad on 18 April and speaking on the occasion, Deverakonda said _Taxiwaala_ is a product of a mad, mad team. Calling it his third attempt after Arjun Reddy and Pellichoopulu in the new age cinema space, he said it’s a high concept film. “Taxiwaala is what happens when a bunch of youngsters come together to make something really exciting and mad. It’s a product of a mad, mad team. As a team we’re lucky because we’re backed by a cool producer, who gave us the freedom to make the film the way we want,” Deverakonda said, describing the film as a new age attempt. [caption id=“attachment_4438107” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Vijay Devarakonda in a still from Taxiwaala.[/caption] “This is not a single genre film. It’s a film with multiple elements such as supernatural, science-fiction, comedy, thriller and action. I’d like to call this a high concept stress buster. This is my third step in the path of new age cinema. If Pellichoopulu was the first step in that direction, Arjun Reddy was second and Taxiwaala would be third,” he said. Talking about his director, Deverakonda said that he’s highly talented: “It’s a crazy script. Since we’re backed by two big production houses, we’re going all the way to give audiences a crazy ride in cinemas. This will be a laugh riot. We’re coming to cinemas on 18 May.” The film is being jointly presented by UV Creations and GA 2 Pictures and produced by SKN. It marks the debut of Priyanka Jawalkar, who plays the leading lady. In May, Deverakonda will have two back-to-back releases. On May 9, the Savitri biopic Mahanati is confirmed to hit the screens. Vijay plays a crucial role in the film. A week later, Taxiwaala will hit the screens. This year marks Vijay’s Tamil debut. He recently commenced work on upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual Nota, being directed by Anand Shankar. A customary pooja marked the official launch of the project in Chennai last month. Speaking on the occasion, Deverakonda recalled how this project was materialised. “Post Pellichoopulu, I received a lot of offers from Tamil industry.” “I decided I won’t do a Tamil film unless I know the language. If I want to do it, I wanted to do it perfectly. Just after the release of Arjun Reddy, producer Gnanavel Raja brought me this script and was after me to give it a listen. He told me it’s from a very talented director called Anand Shankar. Even though I wasn’t interested in doing a Tamil film, I decided to listen to the script for his sake. When I heard it the first time, it was after a tiring day of shoot and I remember telling Anand that he should narrate it again on a day when I’m not so tired and feeling zoned out. He agreed and we met after a week and this time when I heard the script, I immediately jumped at the opportunity,” Deverakonda said, confirming that Tamil audiences will see his performance in the film in his own voice. If everything goes as planned, Nota could be Vijay’s third release of the year. The film also stars Mehreen Pirzada as the leading lady. Actors Sathyaraj and Nassar will be seen playing pivotal roles. Vikram Vedha fame Sam CS has been roped in to compose music while Santhana Krishnan, son of popular lensman Ravi K Chandran, will crank the camera.