Quicksilver romance: The Nagi Reddy legacy continues with the granddaughter producing `Mercury Pookkal.' One was puzzled. Shooting was supposed to be going on in full swing at Vauhini Studio for their own production (Sri Nandi Productions) ``Mercury Pookkal." But shooting had long ceased at Vauhini. One set out to find out and the riddle was soon solved. Work was on near Vijaya Gardens, on the stretch of road, close by.

Director S. S. Stanley was engrossed in explaining the scene to the lead pair Srikanth and Meera Jasmine. His assistant was asked to read out the dialogue to them and cinematographer Ramesh Babu was told about the angle. Ramesh Babu, incidentally, cranked the camera for "Jithan" and the Telugu superhit, "Balu ABCD."

Instructions given, Stanley, also in charge of story, screenplay and dialogue, detached himself for a chat. "It is a beautiful film with love as its background," he began. ``I can assure the public that they can see the film with their families without feeling embarrassed," he said. Triplicane is the scene of action. Since it would not have been possible to shoot there, the director had chosen a street in Madurai. ``We were there for nearly three weeks and the residents became friends. Some of them have even appeared in small roles in the film," Stanley recollected happily.

Producer Aradana Reddy was cheerful. "My grandfather B. Nagi Reddy was a doyen of the South Indian film industry. My father B. Venkatrama Reddy was behind the Rajini starrer, `Uzhaippali,' and Kamal Hassan's `Nammavar.' My father and I wanted to continue the good work of my grandfather and the result is `Mercury Pookkal,' which will be released next month.  

Srikanth was enjoying himself. "I'm absolutely delighted to be involved in a film produced by the family of the legendary Nagi Reddy," he said. What about his role?

"I'm a computer student, working part time so that my parents are spared the burden of finding the money for my studies. Meera Jasmine is totally different from me and we fall in love. It is a simple love story but has some powerful scenes and dialogue. We all have worked very hard and are sure of its success," he said.  The crew moved into Vijaya Gardens where the ambience was more romantic.