Talking Films With Rakshit Shetty, Karthik Subbaraj & Teja Sajja

Rakshit Shetty: 'For Manu, Love Becomes Life. For Me, Cinema Is Life'

Sapta Sagaradache Ello Side A and B (both now on OTT) left Rakshit Shetty feeling like a well inside of him had been cleaned after a dark, painful process, the actor tells Subha J Rao.

RAKSHIT SHETTY has always said that each of his movies teaches him something. If 777 Charlie, which released in 2023, taught him to acknowledge his emotions, Sapta Sagaradache Ello Side A and B left him feeling like the well inside of him had been cleaned after a dark, painful process. (Both parts of the aching romance are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.)

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“Making the film was a beautiful journey. And, that’s putting it very mildly. It is an experience that cannot be transferred. It was like seeing 40 years of my life with all its warts and goodness. It felt like an attempt to clean the well within me. When you begin, you only see the wrong things, and then you see how you’ve accepted some things, how you’re hard on yourself… I went back to my childhood where someone made fun of me. As a kid, you seemingly take everything lightly, your heart is innocent. But it all settles in. And I realised how that was affecting my present. Once the well was cleaned, I got a better perspective about myself,” Rakshit told OTTplay.

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The HanuMan Effect

These companion features analyse the blend of mythology and superhero tropes that propelled 2024's first Telugu blockbuster.

IN Prasanth Varma’s record-breaking hit HanuMan, there’s a moment where the protagonist Hanumanthu (played by Teja Sajja) is conflicted about his newfound superpowers. Is he really capable of pulling off all those improbable feats? (Spoiler Alert) It’s here that a wandering mystic, tells Hanumanthu that he’s not alone in performing all those heroic deeds. He had Lord Hanuman aiding him at every stage because fate chose him to be the possessor of Rudramani, a mythical stone containing a drop of Lord Hanuman’s blood. The scene cuts to a series of montages where Hanumanthu and Lord Hanuman are shown in tandem. It’s one of the many whistle-worthy moments in the superhero action film which has already become one of the most profitable films of all time in Telugu film industry.

— HEMANTH KUMAR CR

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“WHY am I not getting as excited as others?” laughs Teja Sajja. The breakout star of this year’s first big hit, HanuMan, is basking in the glow of his movie breaking records across India and winning accolades by the day. For its young lead, though, this was an affirmation of his struggle over the past eight years when he returned to the arc lights to make his mark as a lead star after a stellar career as a child artist. Reacting to the success of HanuMan, he says, “I am extremely relieved, as I have lived with the movie and the associated pressure for almost two years. The success still has to soak in, and I feel blank at times when I look at the reviews or hear the numbers. Also, while I was confident that a superhero with Indian roots would be well-received, the extent of its success has taken us by surprise.”

— MALLIK THATIPALLI

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Karthik Subbaraj: 'I Don’t Make Movies With A View To Impress'

The Jigarthanda Double X director on his worldbuilding, filmmaking process, getting back to the big screen after a gap, and more.

AFTER its release on Netflix, Karthik Subbaraj’s well-made Jigarthanda Double X has been receiving love from across geographies. The story of Kirubakaran/Ray Dasan (a gorgeous SJ Suryah), Caesar (Raghavendra Lawrence surprising all in a role that demanded so much of him), Rathnakumar (a ruthless Naveen Chandra), Jeyakodi (Shine Tom Chacko), Malaiarasi (a dignified, powerful Nimisha Sajayan) and Karmegam (Ilavarasu) is among the highest-rated action/adventure films on Letterboxd’s 2023 Year in Review.

Double X, which is an unabashed ode to Karthik’s love for cinema and Westerns, and a spiritual sequel to 2014’s Jigarthanda, speaks about the power of cinema and its ability to bring about change, against the backdrop of a gang war, tribal displacement and ivory smuggling. Karthik’s film is dedicated to Clint Eastwood, Rajinikanth and Mani Ratnam. Clint Eastwood and a camera he gifted Caesar form an integral part of some scenes too — and these are deliciously rendered. (A fan had even tagged Clint’s official X handle to bring the film to his notice, and got a reply that said — “Clint is aware of the movie and would get to it upon the completion of his Juror 2”.)

Great performances apart, the film is possibly Karthik’s finest, for it is filled with immense love for the medium — the medium that has made Karthik among the torchbearers of the new generation of Tamil cinema. In an interview, the director speaks about his worldbuilding, filmmaking process, getting back to the big screen after a gap, and more.

— SUBHA J RAO

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