14 December 2023
Hyderabad
In an exclusive conversation with idlebrain.com, Nihal Kodhaty talks about his background, his stint as a child actor, his breakout role in Evaru, the factors that led him to sign Shantala, hitting it off with Ashlesha Thakur, sharing screen space with Jr NTR in Devara and more…
Could you tell us a bit about your background?
I’m a Hyderabadi. Born and raised here. My parents used to work in a company called Sanghi Group. I’m their only child. It was their passion to see me dancing; they wanted to do it but they couldn’t due to family reasons. So they’ve put me into dancing. So that’s how I started enjoying dance. I’ve learnt dance from Shiamak Davar Institute. I mastered Hip hop and Contemporary form of dance. Did a few shows called Boogie Woogie, Rin Mera Star Superstar. In one of these shows, somebody spotted me and sent me to audition for Nikhil Advani’s Salaam-E-Ishq, where I landed the part of a child actor. I’ve shot with Govinda for it. It was my first entry into films. Immediately after, I did Jagadam where I played Ram’s younger brother. I also did Bava, where I played the younger Siddharth. I’ve also done a film called Mukhbiir. Overall, I’ve done a bunch of projects in addition to numerous commercials. From V to IX standard, I never went to school; I was only acting. Post that I gave acting a pause and completed mechanical engineering from Vignan University, Guntur. I was in Guntur for three years and for one year I was sent to France on a fully funded scholarship by the French government. I’ve done my MBA from Jindal Global University, Haryana.
So, you were all over the place?
I was (smiles). That’s probably why I think I’m able to act better because I understand people and life better.
Unlike other actors who find the going tough, was it relatively easy for you because you were a child actor?
Not entirely true because I see the two journeys as two different horizons. After my Xth standard, I stopped acting fully because I was clear the day I wanted to come back and act, I want to be a different person. Since then there was no connection to the industry whatsoever. So when I came back to do all these films one-and-a-half-year ago, I had to take the tough path of searching for casting calls, go for auditions, stand in queues and give my best. The struggle was different but it was there. In fact, Evaru where I played the younger Sesh happened when I was in college. It was a film where I wanted to test myself on whether I was a fluke back in school or did I actually have an actor in me. So it came at the right time when I was contemplating taking the corporate way or following my passion for acting. It was a breakout role for me as I remember being inundated with offers post its release. I was still in college at that time; I just wanted to finish it and come back. But by the time I came back, it was lockdown and those films couldn’t be materialized. However, I really had some good calls from big production houses.
So COVID-19 hampered your plans?
That’s fine, I understand. I have better films coming soon.
What happened after Evaru?
I had a release called The Story of a Beautiful Girl. It was with Raviprakash garu who had written and produced Mantra. Unfortunately it was released on May 12th earlier this year, where it clashed with 17 other films. We just couldn’t get enough theatres and put the word out properly. However, the money spent on the film was recovered and then a lot of recognition came our way. Within the industry circle, people who watched it really liked my work and the reviews too have been largely good.
What led you to sign Shantala?
Well, honestly my upcoming projects are very commercial in nature. They are also whacky and raunchy kinds of films. I have an affinity towards films that encourage dance form, culture and music. My mother’s a musician; so there was an inclination. I thought I should probably do a film like Shantala a little early on in my career because I’m not sure if I will ever be able to pull off something like this when the stakes are bigger. This is for the soul; it’s not for the pocket. So that’s how I felt Shantala could be a nice film to do in terms of the art it promises to offer.
What do you play in the film?
I’m an archaeology student who visits the Halebeedu and Belur temples for his internship stint. He loves clicking pictures and drawing art. The character’s name is Rajasekhar; he is called Rajababu. He comes from elsewhere to this small tribal village to understand the archeological aspects of Halebeedu and Belur temples. He explores the temples and that’s when he finds this girl Shantala (played by Ashlesha Thakur); he finds her really amusing and then they start having a conversation. It’s a very child-like love they fall in. He makes her aware of the problems that exist in the village and how she should be able to fight them all while supporting her in all her other decisions.
Did you find the role challenging enough?
Honestly, the challenge was to crack the look right. The film is set between the 1920s and 1940s, so the challenge was to make sure that we were in that bracket of the era gone by. Our research included watching Dilip (Kumar) saab’s songs and old films of NTR garu to get a sense of what the dressing and hair was. The acting part was relatively easy. It was all beautifully written on the paper. Mr Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues really helped me understand the character and its thought better.
Let’s talk about the film…
As the name suggests it’s the story of Shantala. Well, there used to be a lady called Shantala and the story is inspired by her. It’s rumoured that it’s a real story and our director Seshu has taken that soul and exaggerated it with cinematic liberties. Back in the villages, there used to be Zamindari culture, where women were exploited and looked down upon. In a setting like that how this tribal girl Shantala transforms the village, goes against the Zamindar and empowers the women through the support of Rajababu is what the film is majorly all about.
You seem to have your portions mainly with Ashlesha Thakur. Did it take time to break the ice with her or did you both hit off instantly?
It somehow didn’t take a lot of time. We met on the shoot day for the first time and then we hit it off instantly. Also, she couldn’t speak Telugu at all while none of our team members could speak English and Hindi with ease, so I certainly became her translator/helper/assistant director. I was helping both her and my director get into the same rhythm and understand the film better. So that is certainly why we spoke a lot more and became friends quickly.
What was it like being on the sets of Shantala?
It was easy. Everybody was passionate about the project – specifically our director Seshu. It was his story; he wrote it with all his heart. Most of the film was shot in Karnataka, so we were on the move. We shot in Chikmagalur for 10 days, and then we went to Halebeedu and Belur, Mangalore and all other places. It was basically backpacking every day, going to the hills, no signals, just beautiful weather and it was a lot of fun. We used to come back to our resting places and discuss the next day’s shoot itinerary. Since everyone almost stayed together, the atmosphere was like a picnic.
What were your biggest learnings from the film?
The biggest learning was to be aware of what the film is and play accordingly. Not every film offers the same kind of experience to the audience, right? This film, especially, I believe is for a niche audience; it’s not a universal kind of film. It addresses a few niche points. Generally the audience who love art, culture, music and dance form will enjoy this film a lot more. As the film is about a bit of history, I got to learn about Kannada history, the temple architecture and all that.
Like you, Ashlesha is also very young in her career. What were the conversations with her like on sets?
There were only two things which we were majorly talking about: films and food. Both of us are food lovers and as we were shooting on the outskirts, we couldn’t get a lot of good food. So we made a bunch of friends from the production and they used to drive us to nice restaurants in Chikmagalur. We used to explore coffee and food places to eat. In addition, we used to talk a lot about cinema in general. How the world cinema influenced her, her favorite films, the films I watched and we used to break down films based on our own understanding.
What else have you got coming up?
I’m doing two extremely interesting projects: one is called Chinapiece. It’s with a new team. The director’s name is Viswanath Reddy. Suresh Ragutu is the cinematographer, while Marthand K Venkatesh is the editor. We’ve shot for 20 days so far and we are extremely kicked about the output. I will start shooting for it again from Friday. It’s a spy film set in a funny and emotional space. It has some connection with India and China borders. I believe it’s really going to do wonders. The other film I’m doing is Devara. I have a nice role in it. Length-wise it is smaller but its impact will be high. I’ve shot with NTR garu for four-five days while with Saif sir I’ve shot for five-seven days. There’s a bit of action in the film, so we had to learn a few things like rowing. We were trained for it for 15 days.
What was it like sharing screen space with Jr NTR who is one the best actors going around?
When he is on set, the energy is different. Whatever the shot may be, how much ever lengthier the scene may be, this man comes in, reads it once, absorbs it fully and does it. For a very interesting sequence, which is an action bit, I was trained for an entire day. Our man comes, watches it once and does it freely (laughs). It’s a gift of another kind. I don’t think it’s humanly possible what he does in front of the camera. He is extremely gifted.
How do you reflect on the year which is drawing to a close?
I believe it’s been a second great year for me. There was a lot of learning and I met with a lot of interesting and extremely talented people. I met with KS Ramarao who is a legend himself. The learning about the market, the distribution and how to choose your films and all that has been immense. I think it’s been a good, successful year. Financially I’ve done quite well for myself. I think I’m on my way to achieving very big things.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
