Colour Photo is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language period romantic drama film directed by debutante Sandeep Raj. Produced by Amrutha Productions and Loukya Entertainment, the film stars Suhas in his first lead role, along with Chandini Chowdary, and Sunil. The music was composed by Kaala Bhairava, marking his second film as composer after Mathu Vadalara. The film is set in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh in the mid-1990s and is said to be the story of a "below-average guy".
The film premiered on aha on 23 October 2020. The project includes many debutants who previously worked in short films, including the director of the film Sandeep Raj. The film was shot completely in Machilipatnam, Vijayawada and the surrounding areas in Andhra Pradesh. At the 68th National Film Awards, it won the Best Feature Film in Telugu.
Plot
The film begins with Deepthi receiving the news of her father's death. She and her husband Chandu reach their village and meet their family. Ramaraju, Deepthi's brother and the local sub-inspector, tries to talk to her, but she shuts him down and goes to her ex Jayakrishna's house in his jeep. Her friend Padmaja accompanies her, and they spot a couple arguing. Deepthi finds their issues very similar to her past with Jayakrishna, and narrates her story.
Jayakrishna, the son of a milkman, studies in the same college as Deepthi's. He once saw her rehearsing for a performance as a goddess, and fell in love with her. However, unlike Deepthi, he is dark skinned and from a poor economic background. Hence, he never expresses his feelings towards her. A year later, a few seniors rag Jayakrishna by tricking him into going to Deepthi's rehearsal and then beat him up for "teasing girls". Deepthi and her friends go to the principal and explain what truly happened, and Jayakrishna gets out of trouble. However, he starts avoiding them, as he does not want anyone to think badly. Deepthi confronts and proposes to Jayakrishna. On Jayakrishna's request, she accepts to keep their relationship a secret. With her encouragement, he beats up the seniors who beat him up and earns confidence and courage.
Unexpectedly, Padmaja and Jayakrishna's friend Bala Yesu "Balu" get to know about their relationship. They, too, accept to keep this a secret. Things go well for the couple until a fest, where the college principal denies Jayakrishna an opportunity to speak on the stage because of his skin tone. Jayakrishna feels insulted and gives a speech on the stage, criticising colour discrimination in front of the chief guest - a foreigner who does not understand Telugu and considers it a speech favouring engineering.
The principal, along with the seniors that have a grudge against him, decides to take revenge. On Deepthi's birthday, when Jayakrishna meets her in an empty class, the seniors lock the room and allege that the couple were having an amorous relationship. Ramaraju is angered and sends her away from the village. Jayakrishna is beaten up subsequently. However, as Deepthi arrives to collect her hall ticket, Jayakrishna shows up and leaves with her as Ramaraju is stuck in the college with their friends' help.
The couple feels encouraged and leaves happily. Then, Padmaja and Deepthi recollect the actual happenings. Jayakrishna was beaten up, humiliated, and his certificates were burnt by Ramaraju, thus ensuring that he gets no job in the future. He also kills Lakshmi, a calf Jayakrishna has raised very dearly, naming it after his deceased mother and cooks the calf into beef biryani and forces Jayakrishna to eat it, pretending it is mutton biryani. When Jayakrishna retorted, Ramaraju broke his leg, leaving him lame.
Jayakrishna met Deepthi when she arrived to receive her hall ticket, and they decide to commit suicide by consuming poison. Jayakrishna dies on the spot, but Deepthi was rescued by Ramaraju. Balu was left devastated and lost his sanity. The film ends with Deepthi learning that no photo of Jayakrishna exists in the village, and she drawing his portrait, calling it the 'Colour Photo'.
Cast
Production
Development
Director Sandeep Raj has already directed and was known for acting in few short films. In 2019, he decided to direct a small-budget film with his short films team. Most of the actors in the film were previously YouTubers and those who did few short films. In an interview, Raj said that he wants to direct films which have versatile story-telling.