There’s a sudden cheer in director Ramesh Verma’s voice when he talks about Ilayaraja working for Abbayitho Ammayi. This is next after Veera starring Ravi Teja. About Ilayaraja and heroine Palak he says that more than freshness, he wanted someone to ensure a lot of depth and variety in the compositions. Explaining the reason he chose Palak for the film, “I was on the look-out for a face that would exude a next-door girl charm. I had auditioned nearly 20 of them for the part, but I felt the simplicity in her appearance was true to role of the female protagonist.”It’s also a film where Mounaragam-fame Mohan is returning to Telugu cinema. “He was initially reluctant to play the role of a father but once I was done with the narration, there were no issues. He was terrific with his Telugu. The roles of Rao Ramesh and Mohan are as important as the lead actors.”