Fascinated by 'Rudhramadevi' story from a young age: Gunasekhar

Filmmaker Gunasekhar says he's been fascinated by the story of queen Rudhramadevi - on which his upcoming eponymous film is based - ever since he heard it as a school boy.

"I read about Rudhramadevi in school and since then her inspiring story has stayed with me. Her valour fascinated me so much that when I became a filmmaker, I decided to make a film on her story at any cost," Gunasekhar told IANS.

The film, which features Anushka Shetty in the lead, is the story of the reigning queen of Kakatiya dynasty.

After months of delay, the film will finally hit the screens on September 4.

"We're in the final leg of post-production but we will definitely arrive on time. Besides Telugu, we also plan to release the film in Tamil and Malayalam. The Hindi version will be released at a later stage," he said.

Touted to be India's first stereoscopic 3D film, Gunasekhar said the delay in release was due to the 3D work.

"Since the entire film was shot in 3D, designing visual effects turned out to be a daunting and time-consuming process," said Gunasekhar, and added he spent nine years on research for this project.

"We had to be as authentic as possible in our recreation of the story. Since this is history, the recreation of every minute detail to perfection was very important. My research was backed by the inputs of several historians and industry veterans," he said.

Although he hadn't planned to make the film with Anushka, he feels she was destined to do it.

"Even before I could approach her, a lot of my industry friends and well-wishers felt she'd be perfect for the lead character. Had it not been for her continuous support, we wouldn't have completed the film smoothly," he added.

The film also features Rana Daggubati and Allu Arjun in important roles. Nithya Menen, Prakash Raj, Catherine Tresa, Aditi Chengappa and Krishnam Raju are also part of the ensemble cast.