Anna Palenchuk, the Line Producer and Production Manager of RRR filming in Ukraine, discusses her personal experience working with SS Rajamouli and wishes to continue working with Indian production companies after things return to normal in his home country

I was the line producer and head of production for RRR film shooting in Ukraine. Working with the RRR Team, especially SS Rajamouli, is a true blessing. Rajamouli is a genius. I was in charge of site scouting, filming, and executive management of everything that was going on, including the finance department.

The RRR crew is a lovely family, and I was blown away by their passion for filmmaking. We worked tirelessly every day and are now enjoying the film’s success. Everyone is waiting for the announcement of the Academy Awards for Best Original Song. If given the opportunity, I would like to work with Rajamouli and his team again. Karthikeya, his son, is a fantastic film producer.

After graduating from New York Film Academy, I produced the first Ukrainian official co-production film “Eastalgia” (Ukraine/Serbia/Germany). I am the founder of Ukraine film company “435 Films”, which works both with feature and documentary films.

I’ve previously worked with Indian crews, but working with the RRR crew is something special. They are genuine, inventive, and oneof-a-kind in every manner. They have a very innovative knowledge of production values. In addition, the storytelling of Indian films is highly distinct. They are fantastic. I hope to continue working with Indian production companies.

I’ve known Ramji for six years and we’ve collaborated on six films. He is a wonderful person with a good heart and sound judgement. He is a professional executive and a thinker. I hope he writes a book about his unusual experiences one day.

I moved to Toronto with my three children after the war. It’s a shame what’s going on right now. But I will head back to Ukraine. Ukraine is a wonderful country with wonderful people that are brave and hardworking. As Ukrainians, we have our own nation, language, culture, and way of life. We are quite optimistic that everything will return to normal and that we will be ableto resume filming and production in Ukraine.