Chi La Sow stars Sushanth, Ruhani Sharma open up about their upcoming new-age romance drama

In his career spanning almost a decade, Sushanth has done just four films, a strike rate that is a tad too surprising by any standard. The actor admits to being extremely cautious about his work over the years, and he attributes the long gaps between projects to his willingness to wait till a film releases to pick his next. “I think I took risks in my career in a different way. I was in a comfort zone all these years, and I had some baggage too to satisfy certain people around me. Maybe I wasn’t confident enough to rely on my judgement, which meant that I couldn’t do anything really out of the box. After a point, you start truly believing in the idea that the people who buy your films expect certain things and you’ve to cater to what the market demands. In hindsight, maybe I should have been more individualistic,” Sushanth confesses, as he walks down the memory lane. However, all that changed when his 2016 comedy film Aatudukundham Raa bombed at the box-office. “It was meant to be a safe project. When that didn’t work, everything went for a toss. Suddenly, I lost whatever little market I had post Adda and also a much needed hit remained elusive in my career.” [caption id=“attachment_4880471” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sushanth and Ruhani Sharma in a still from Chi La Sow. Image via Twitter[/caption] Perhaps, it took a lot of soul searching for him post the debacle of Aatudukundham Raa that resulted in him taking a major leap of faith when he met actor-turned-director Rahul Ravindran at Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s engagement ceremony. Two days after their conversation about films, Rahul ended up narrating a story to Sushanth, and the duo didn’t have to look back after that. “I had no idea that Rahul wanted to be a director. Initially, he narrated a different script to me. I loved his clarity of thought, but it was a completely different genre than what I was hoping to do. When he pitched the story of Chi La Sow, it just took me 30 seconds to say yes. I loved the drama and Rahul’s approach to come up with such a sensible thought. Maybe, I was in the right frame of mind to take up the film. I don’t know if I would have done this had I listened to it three years ago,” Sushanth adds. In the film, Sushanth plays Arjun, a youngster who’s forced to meet a girl chosen by his parents, much to his dismay. He has no interest to get married; however, a lot happens over the course of a night after he meets her. Ask him if he has faced any such pressure at home to get married, Sushanth bursts out laughing saying, “Thankfully, I haven’t had any such pressure from my parents to get married so far, but people are very inquisitive in general about your plans to get married. It’s a story which a lot of youngsters will relate to. When my friends heard the storyline, they were surprised by how real it felt compared to their own experiences. Chi La Sow is not preachy at all, and at the same time, Rahul has kept it very real and lighthearted.” [caption id=“attachment_4880451” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sushanth in a Chi La Sow promo. Image via Twitter[/caption] The team spent several months trying to find the film’s lead actress, and when Rahul couldn’t find any Telugu-speaking actress for the role, he was forced to look at debutantes elsewhere. And then, it was the photo of a new actress, Ruhani Sharma, that caught his eye. “I wanted the girl’s character to look a certain way. The first time I saw Ruhani’s pictures, I felt that she had a sort of melancholy in her eyes. She is young, but also quite mature in her thoughts at the same time,” Rahul said. The first time Ruhani came to Hyderabad for an audition, apparently Rahul was taken aback by her bold fashion sense. However, once she auditioned for the role, the team didn’t have to think twice about casting her. She turned Anjali, the girl whom Arjun meets, without no time. “I had no clue that Rahul spotted melancholy in my eyes,” Ruhani quips, adding, “My fashion sense is inspired from street-style, maybe that’s what surprised Rahul the most. I had a lot of questions in mind about who Anjali is, and Rahul was patient enough to answer everything. Even though we have similar traits, we are very different people. I would say that both of us are independent, fearless, and strong in different ways. There’s a huge difference in how she conducts herself. I can’t say she’s entirely like me. It was very important for me to get into her psyche. I’m not sure if I have succeeded, but if people like my performance, then the credit would go to Rahul. I’m very passionate about acting and I take a lot of pleasure when it comes to playing a character right. It was quite essential that I was very well prepared before I go to the shoot.” [caption id=“attachment_4880441” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Ruhani Sharma. Image via Twitter[/caption] One of the many things that Rahul and cinematographer Sukumar stressed ahead of the shoot was retaining a natural look for both the actors. For Sushanth, Chi La Sow is the first film where he didn’t have to put on makeup. “I’ve been told a lot of times that I look better off-screen, and I don’t know if that’s a compliment (laughs). Before I could even speak to Sukumar, he took a look at me and decided that I shouldn’t use any makeup. Rahul went a step further and thought it would look more real if I wear shorts for most part of the film. I had to ask the rest of the crew if I’m looking okay and all of them said, ‘Your legs aren’t as skinny as you think they are’. That’s when I gave up and just went with the flow,” Sushanth laughs. For Ruhani too, it’s an unusual debut compared to the roles what most newcomers get. “I didn’t even think if this was the right role for my debut, when I signed the film. I don’t aspire to fit into a glamorous actress category. I’m very clear that I want to be known as a good actress because I love acting so much. I want people to notice my acting more than my looks,” Ruhani says. Both Rahul and Sushanth are all praise for Ruhani, who impressed the whole team with her performance, despite the language barrier. “Chi La Sow is my fifth film, but it’s Ruhani’s first, although it never felt so while working with her. Even after the shoot was done, she enrolled in an acting workshop to hone her skills. I love a lot of things about filmmaking like music, acting, cinematographer etc, but she just focuses on her acting. I wish I could be like that someday,” Sushanth says, referring to Ruhani. The entire drama about Chi La Sow revolves around the concept of two strangers meeting each other for the first time, and whether they end up marrying each other or not in the end. The duo adds that Rahul’s refreshing take on the theme will not go unnoticed. “I’ve a feeling that we have made a good film. And it’s a film that I can show to my friends. In the past, I used to show them songs from my films, but tell them that maybe it’s not your kind of film. However, Chi La Sow is a new-age romantic drama that is quite relevant. Regardless of its box-office numbers post release, I’m happy that I’m part of a fine film,” Sushanth says. His co-star Ruhani is both excited and anxious about the result. “I used to get quite stressed out while delivering few lengthy monologues, and I remember one particular shot where I had to enact a one page monologue. Somehow, we got the shot in one take and I couldn’t believe that I got it right. Rahul was so happy that he clapped for me. It meant a lot to me. I hope people will like our film and I earn their respect and love too,” Ruhani confesses.