Jyothi Lakshmi (film)

Cast

Development

Puri Jagannadh planned to make a female-centric film and after searching for the lead actress from a long time, he approached Charmy Kaur for the lead role, considering her dance and acting prowess; she immediately accepted to be a part of the film. The film was titled Jyothy Lakshmi in early October 2014 and was rumored to be based on the life of a South Indian actress of the same name. The film's story was also rumoured to be based on a novel written by Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy. Charmy however clarified in early November 2014 that the film is neither a biopic nor is inspired by any real life character, but a complete commercial entertainer based on a story written by Jagannadh.

Sunil Kashyap and P.G. Vinda were signed in on as the music director and cinematographer of the film respectively in early February 2015 marking their first collaboration with Jagannadh. Charmy opted to be one of the producers of the film and presented it. C. Kalyan bankrolled the film under the banners Sri Subha Swetha films and C. K. Entertainments. The film's production activities began on 25 February 2015 at Hyderabad after conducting a formal pooja ceremony and the film's first look still was unveiled on the same day. The film was confirmed to revolve around the life of a small-time heroine struggling in the film industry and the perspectives of various people who think low about girls working in film industries.

Casting

Charmy called the character of Jyothy Lakshmi as an intense one and as a reference for her looks, Jagannadh showed her a few old pics of hers and asked her to look as slim as she was in them. For her role, Charmy had to sport a long, black and silky hair for a typical Indian look, adding that she would be seen in two different looks. She took training in belly dancing, freestyle and club dancing. Satyadev Kancharana played the male lead.

Filming

Principal photography was expected to begin on 1 March 2014. It began on 8 March 2015 on the eve of International Women's day which was confirmed by the first look poster released on the same day. A 60-second first look teaser was also unveiled on the same day. This movie had a song featuring Angela Krislinzki along with Brahmanandam.

Critical response

Cochin Talkies rated the movie 2.47 out of 5 and wrote: "Jyothi Lakshmi is a social message film mixed with commercial elements to make it viable at the box office. While the commercial elements are very neatly embedded, Puri missed the plot in adding the required emotional depth to the film which makes it shallow. Jyothi Lakshmi can be at best a one time watch, if you have nothing to do this weekend."

Release

The movie released on 12 June 2015.