Directorial debut for 'Satya'
Chekravarthy will now be seen as a director in Ramu's Darwaza Bandh Rakho, writes Diganta Guha.
His performance in the title role in Ram Gopal Varma's Satya made him a household name eight years back. Satya was a trendsetter but the actor who benefited out of the film was Manoj Bajpai who essayed the role of Bhiku Matre and surprisingly, not Chekravarthy.
Since then this talented actor has moved on with several films in the south but not much in Mumbai, apart from Vaastu Shastra a couple of years back. Now, he wields the baton of a director in mentor Ram Gopal Varma's Darwaza Bandh Rakho.
Incidentally, he directed one episode in Darna Mana Hai (with Randeep Hooda and Zakir Hussain) but says, "Darwaza... is my debut directorial venture since I shot the Darna... episode after Darwaza…." The songless film stars Aftab Shivdasani, Chunkey Pandey, Manisha Koirala, Isha Sharvani and Zakir Hussain among others.
So, what do we have in store in
Darwaza…?
It is a "realistic situational comedy," says the maker. The story is of four guys who resort to kidnapping to earn some quick money. The comedy is not by the actors but from the situations. The idea initially was RGV's and "I took it from there, making changes wherever required," says the director, who shot the film indoors in around 35 days.
In fact, Chekravarthy informs that RGV didn't come a single day during the shooting. "I only showed him the edited version and he liked it. In fact, I was quite tense whether he would like the film or not," adds Chekravarthy.
Chekravarthy had a great time shooting the film though shooting with 35 characters wasn't easy. "Can you imagine 35 characters in one shot and add to them the rest of the crew? It was like an unruly classroom," he says, laughing. And he had to be unlike Satya and "keep my cool under such a situation."
What has he learnt from his stint as a director? "You have to be a good actor first. And what Ramuji told me was that to be a good director you need to have common sense rather than general knowledge," adds Chekravarthy.
What happens to the actor in him? "I am not quitting acting but I can't do both simultaneously. I am currently busy with post-production," he says. The film is slated to release on August 4.
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