Jeevitha, former actress and wife of actor Rajashekar, has returned to her directorial role. She’s directing Rajashekar’s upcoming suspense thriller, Shekar, which is the remake of Malayalam film, Joseph.
“It was a collective idea from Rajashekar garu, my children and me,” she shares about getting back to wielding the baton. Incidentally, it was Jeevitha who wrote the screenplay of Shekar. And she tells us that the Telugu version of the film is getting a little makeover. “I’ve customised the script, and as it was my own production I thought why not return to the directorial chair,” adds Jeevitha with a smile. Apparently, even Rajashekar had been rooting for her to direct ever since they bought the remake rights.
Rajashekar from the film Shekar
Incidentally, Jeevitha has directed Rajashekar earlier in films like Seshu (2002), Evadaithe Nakenti (co-directed by Samudra; 2007), Satyameva Jayate (2009) and Mahankali (2013).
Home production comes with challenges
Even as Jeevitha directs this crime thriller, she will have to work on the production. Admitting that multitasking is very demanding, she points out that for this film, it wasn’t planned. The situation demanded it. But she’s been getting a lot of support from her family, she tells us.
Jeevitha admits that while direction itself is a daunting task, taking care of production is even more demanding. “I’ve been doing a lot of running around. But I’ve been drawing energy from my family. And my daughters and Rajashekar’s ideas and constant encouragement keep me on my toes,” says Jeevitha.
“Both my daughters are helping me in production (apart from being busy with their own respective films) while giving me creative inputs, which are modern,” explains Jeevitha, adding that her daughters have been helping her with ideas and the production since Rajashekar’s 2017-thriller PVS Garuda Vega.
Fun times at work
So, how is it directing her husband and that too, after a while? “It’s always fun,” she replies. “He’s comfortable with me directing; and as I know him personally too, I feel I can extract the best from him. He’s always encouraging and sometimes even shares his ideas.”
She goes on to add about how when she works for their films, she automatically gets charged. “I feel their films need my support and I do my best in my capacity,” she adds.
