Actor takes on two new roles and hopes that the third time lucky charm follows him after Dilwala and Tirupati Express
Sumanth Shailendra
After initial hiccups, this actor has finally made a strong comeback with back-to-back hits — Dilwala alongside Radhika Pandit and then Tirupati Express opposite the gorgeous Kriti Kharbanda. Sumanth Shailendra, son of prominent film producer and financier Shailendra Babu, is hoping to be third time lucky, with the success of Bettanagere, a film based on a real life incident. He speaks to us about his films, his journey from assisting his father in most of his productions to acting. While he awaits two releases this season including yet another home production — Bhale Jodi wherein he romances three heroines on screen, he is thrilled and even planning another project on the lines of the Hollywood mega hit X-Men series.
The actor who believes in giving opportunity to new directors says, “Bettanagere, and our home production venture Bhale Jodi is ready for release. I am also shooting for Cherry, which is again directed by a debutant. It has been an amazing journey so far with different characters and genre of films.”
In Bettanagere, Sumanth portrays the role of an underworld don Bettanagere Seena. “The film is a completely raw depiction. It has no love, romance nor comedy. It was a challenge as I had to perform the role of a person who is no more. My co-star Akshay performs the role of Shankar, whom I would meet in person and prepare for the role. I had to surf all about my character on the Internet, watch videos of the don himself. He looked so normal in real life but for the commercial aspect, I have changed a bit of his appearance,” he reveals.
Being the son of a leading producer, Sumanth feels that working with a home banner always has an added advantage as he is then involved in every stage of the production till the publicity. “After a thorough research on the storyline, picking up talented new directors, good musicians, a producer has given me a great deal of responsibility which I enjoy. Most of the time, there have been instances where directors and other technicians have walked out from the project with certain differences. However, they usually return with the best work,” he says.
In Bhale Jodi, a remake directed by composer, comedian, director Sadhu Kokila, the actor romances three heroines — Shanvi Srivastava, Hariprriya and Harshika Poonacha. “It was a first for me to work under an actor-cum-director who is also a great composer. He was the most active person on the sets and is very professional even under the scorching sun with the temperature touching 45 degree Celsius in Bangkok! He brought the most out of me as an actor. My acting is improving but Sadhu brought out my talent.”
He recollects a terrible incident while shooting for Dilwala, when he saved the life of his cameraman. “We were shooting for a song for Dilwala on a train in Ooty. The cameraman had turned to our side and was unaware of a big cable (car) that was fast approaching. Realising that it will pull him right into engine of the train killing him instantly, I kept screaming but he was unable to hear me. I then jumped from one bogie to another alerting the crew.”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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