She rose to fame with Vaastu Prakara, and then Rocket helped her reach new heights as an artiste. A truly versatile and multi-talented personality, she can act and as well as sing, and now, she has added direction to her pot of creativity too. The Mangaluru beauty — Aishani Shetty, makes her debut as a director for her maiden short film, being produced by her Rocket co-star Satish Ninasam.
Unlike many, the actress has decided to complete her masters in journalism, thus has limited herself to just a film a year until her studies are completed. She is currently pursuing her post-graduation at St Joseph’s College in namma Bengaluru. So, how did she manage to venture into direction? Speaking to Bengaluru Chronicle, Aishani reveals all about directing a ‘short film’, and more.
“I have always been fascinated by the technical aspects of movie making. I wanted to venture into directing instead of just being an actress. After acting in films while pursuing my graduation, I decided to continue my studies and hence chose a film a year. Recently, I had a break for a month where I was to submit a academic project. That was when it struck me that I wanted to do something more meaningful, and I started working on writing scripts. Later, I approached Satish Ninasam Sir, who has always been a huge support for new talent with his production house Satish Picture House,” says Aishani Shetty.
The actress reveals that every time she went with a script to Satish, the actor-producer would suggest some changes and finally when the script shaped up well, she started pre-production for her short film. With an able team from the production house, she was looking for a fresh face for this 15-minute short film. However, Hitha, daughter of the well-known actor couple Sihi Kahi Chandru and Sihi Kahi Geetha, joined the team to play the protagonist’s role.
“Ever since I thought of making this short film, I wanted to concentrate on direction and cast myself as well. We held auditions for the lead role, and when Hita came across, I was not sure whether she would agree to a short film, which is quite rare for someone who has worked in the mainstream. It was great of Hita to show her interest in working on my short film. We have so far completed the shots and post-production work is in full swing,” she says.
What this film is all about is being kept under wraps, Aishani explains, “We plan to reveal the first look of the short film, and even the title is still under wraps. While it’s not a women-centric film, it’s about a common woman who has story to tell — Small things in a woman’s life that people overlook. It will capture the audience’s sensibility. This not the first short film I have directed. I had directed one as an undergraduate where a classmate had written a script. It was again meant for academic purposes, and was screened for a limited audience. However, this time, the short film will be released and also be showcased in various film festivals.”
Aishani is also a trained singer, who made her singing debut in Rocket. “I learned classical music for four years but I couldn’t pursue further as I was more interested in sports. It was during the promotion of my film Vaastu Prakara, director Yogaraj Bhat would make me sing during almost every TV show, and interview. Later, the Rocket team asked me to sing. I do get a lot of offers to sing, but I don’t want to sing just because I am in the film. It must suit the situation and I must be convinced that it demands my voice,” adds Aishani.
She has completed work for an upcoming film Naduve Antaravirali meaning maintain distance. And from the looks of it, she might just switch to producing films in the future too. Not bad for this tiny bundle of creative energy!
