Salman Khan loved Vikrant Rona and was happy to collaborate: Kichcha Sudeep

He is Kannada superstar who is also a writer, producer, director and enjoys playing cricket. Sudeep or Kichcha Sudeep , as he is popularly known, is all set to be seen in the biggest film of his career, a 3D fantasy thriller called ‘ Vikrant Rona ’ come July 28. Directed by Anup Bhandari , this film will present a new facet of Sudeep, says the star who adds it will also be new to Indian cinema. In this candid chat with Firstpost, Sudeep talks about being the first film crew to shoot during the pandemic, why he loved this film, his vision for Vikrant Rona and more.

What attracted you to the role of Vikrant Rona? You are not romancing anyone, no big song and dance routine on screen and I think that’s a large part of what Kannada star Sudeep is and what your fans would expect?

I’ve not made decisions based on what the audience would expect but more on instinct. All the decisions I’ve taken on scripts – good, bad, whatever it is – are mine alone. I think times are changing and only if something is a requirement it should be part of the script. Today times have changed as to how the story has to be told and there’s a small amount of impatience that has creeped into everyone. The audience is not going to sit through a two-and-a-half-hour film if the story just has about 40 minutes of content. As for ‘Vikrant Rona’, I loved it and whatever the requirements of the role are, they are well met.

The movie is a 3D, fantasy film and I read that you wanted a very Jumanji-Indiana Jones feel to it. This would be new for the Kannada and Indian film industry itself.

It’s not that I was looking for a Jumanji or Indiana Jones type film but the story, narrative style and placement of the characters demanded that we position it like those films. In the time period, the film is set in, there was less commuting, less communication and less electricity. That’s why we positioned it like that and when we did, the feel of a Jumanji or Indiana Jones came in. It wasn’t a very deliberate effort. I love those Hollywood films and that’s the only way I can explain and express myself as to how this film is going to look like. Most people have seen Indiana Jones and Jumanji and the moment we say those names, they can connect to the kind of film we are talking about here. Apart from that, the story or content of the film doesn’t even remotely connect to these Hollywood films.

The movie was entirely shot on set and the VFX added later. Was this challenging for you as an actor?

The sets were very well created and only extensions were added through VFX. The extensions are about 20 to 30 percent. That’s when the budget goes up. But as an actor we are used to sets and no sets shooting, every type of place, weather, timings and food when we travel. All this doesn’t matter – what matters is what we deliver. I am someone who has done ‘ Eega ’ also so I’m not foreign to acting with no one in front of me (smiles). How challenging it is doesn’t cross my mind; I guess we make it easy. Sets are better as everything is created to the needs of the film and we are at a place which is comfortable and, in a city, where the weather is comfortable. It all fell in place.

Interestingly, you were the first film crew in India to start shooting during the pandemic with all the safety and hygiene factors in place.

At that time there was no word called ‘bubble’; we created the first and we didn’t know what we had created was a bubble. We went one month earlier to the Annapurna Studios (Hyderabad) and marked where people should stand maintaining social distance; constantly reminding people not to touch anything on set and not to touch their face after the shot till they were sanitised; there were ambulances and so on. At one time, we could have only about 70 or 80 people working but there were about 600 people working on the set. We pulled it off beautifully. We were not only the first crew in the world to shoot during the pandemic but the only crew that didn’t have a single case of Covid. This was a surprise but I also strongly believe that time supported us. There were other films that had started shooting after us but we heard of Covid cases cropping up on those sets.

Will ‘Vikrant Rona’ show us a facet of Kannada star Sudeep we haven’t seen before? Is there something new that will be revealed to the audience?

Yes, I think the whole approach I have taken as an actor is new to me. If it is new to me then it is new to everyone who is watching the film. I’ve brought in something new to the character, persona, personality, attitude, approach. I think it’s one of the most highly performance-oriented roles – it doesn’t look like that in the trailer but it was. It kept me on my toes during the shoot.

You are also a producer on this film which is the biggest in your career.

I’m only standing up for my friend, Manju, who is my dear childhood friend, brother and manager. He is a producer, distributor and exhibitor. After listening to the script, I didn’t want this going out of the house in terms of production. This film needed a lot and there could be twists and turns even in the production, not just the script. If people don’t understand the depth and value of the script, then things will fall apart. I wanted to produce it myself but I thought Manju was the right guy – he’s someone who I believe in thoroughly. And vice versa.

You spoke about good content and thanks to OTT, people are now exposed to content from around the world. ‘Vikrant Rona’ is going to give us innovative content, isn’t it?

Yes. It’s something new to Indian cinema even script-wise. I think overall it’s a movie to watch out for. When I heard the script, it was a small film to be made on a budget of Rs 10 to 12 crores with newcomers. When I took it on, I added scale to it based on how I visualised it and it went large-scale but maintaining the core of the story. What attracted me to the script was the purpose of the story – why are we narrating it. And I loved the ending of the story.

Every film that you do, you are invested in it personally as is the case with Vikrant Rona also. Your friend, Salman Khan, is now presenting this film in Hindi and he believes in this film as much as you do. How does this make you feel?

I think it just doesn’t come from just this project and the feeling is great when so many people love you and respect you. They value you and believe in you and value what you do for them. It’s a very family affair between all of us. Salman sir has seen a lot more portions of the film than anyone else and he has loved it. He was so willing to collaborate. Even they know when they are coming in that I’m not looking at the commercial aspect. They know if I don’t believe in the project, I wouldn’t approach them. I’ll not involve their name if their reputation is at stake. If I can, I’ll involve them so that it’ll be another feather in their cap. All the people I’ve collaborated with on this film are big names and what I can give them is respect through a good project.

Everyone is talking about pan-Indian cinema and ‘Vikrant Rona’ is definitely a pan-India and global film releasing in 15 languages in 55 countries. Did you ever imagine that a film of yours would have such a large reach and release?

I’ve always been an ambitious person but my ambitions don’t exceed my talent. (Laughs) I think I always wanted to be in cinema and I’m only concentrating on that. Whether I expected it or not – I think I was just honest doing my films and I was not looking up the ladder. Whatever is happening right now are the bonuses that I’m getting for all my years of work in cinema. I think cinema gives beautiful surprises now and then and I look at it only that way.

Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs.

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