Mumbai, Apr 4 (PTI) Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Saturday said he was approached for a role in the upcoming pan-India film “Dacoit” at the wedding of actors Sobhita Dhulipala and Naga Chaitanya.
Narrating the story of how he was cast in the upcoming action-thriller, Kashyap said that during the ceremony he was pulled aside for an impromptu script narration by director Shaneil Deo and actor Adivi Sesh, who also co-wrote “Dacoit”.
“I went to attend the wedding of Sobhita (Dhulipala) to do kanyadaan and after it was done, they took me in a corner in that wedding and narrated the script to me. Like, while the ‘phera’ ceremony was going on, I was listening to the narration. I was not asked whether I’ll do it or not, rather I was told we are starting shoot next month,” the filmmaker-actor said at the trailer launch press conference of “Dacoit”.
Dhulipala, who made her acting debut with Kashyap’s 2016 movie “Raman Raghav 2.0” and later worked with him on the Netflix horror anthology “Ghost Stories” (2020), tied the knot with Chaitanya in Hyderabad in 2024.
“Dacoit” is billed as a gripping story of two former lovers, who must unite to commit a series of robberies to change their lives. It stars Mrunal Thakur opposite Sesh.
Kashyap said he couldn’t say no to the makers of “Dacoit” because the role offered him a break from typecast characters.
“For the first time, someone saw me beyond the crazy psychopath killer and that was a big thing for me. Usually, people often typecast you but in this film I got to play a new kind of a character,” the filmmaker, who has acted in films like “Akira”, “Bad Cop”, “Maharaja”, “Viduthalai Part 2”, and “Rifle Club”, said.
Speaking about his stint in front of the camera, Kashyap said though filmmaking remains his first love, acting provides a fresh perspective.
“Right now, my films aren’t working. I prefer directing movies. I love making movies, my first love is filmmaking. Acting is also part of it, I’ve done theatre and that experience is coming to use now,” he said.
Kashyap, 53, drew parallels to legends like Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Dev Anand, Clint Eastwood, and Mel Gibson, and said that actors often make the best directors because of their “intuitiveness” regarding performance.
“Actors have intuitiveness while doing acting and hence they turn out to be better directors. Also, directors have a better understanding of many things, and there are quite a few directors who have been good actors as well, like Satish Kaushik, Rajkumar Santoshi, and others,” he said.
“When I acted first, I couldn’t bear myself as an actor maybe because I didn’t understand the medium of cinema then. Today, I know it,” he said, adding, his first love is writing and direction.
“It’s good to act sometimes as you get a new perspective, like when an actor becomes a director, he understands the importance of performance,” Kashyap added.
Kashyap praised Sesh and described him as a “realistic and pragmatic” person.
“Sesh carries a lot of gratefulness inside him for everything and that comes across in his personality and films,” he said.
For Thakur, sharing screen space with Kashyap in “Dacoit” proved to be a valuable learning experience.
“I’ve heard so much about Anurag sir as a director. I was on the sets of ‘Dacoit’, there were times when scheduling of the scenes were such that my scenes would happen first and his would happen in the second half.
“I would stay back and watch his scenes on the monitor, and I would observe him and the zaika that he has added to the role, is amazing. I was not watching him as Anurag sir but Swami, the flavours that he has added to ‘Dacoit’ is grateful.” The actor, known for her work in Hindi and South films like “Love Sonia”, “Super 30”, “Sita Ramam”, and “Hi Nanna”, said that she only chooses roles that “take the story forward”.
“I like playing characters that have soul in it. I’ve learnt a lot from all the characters that I’ve played and the mistakes that they’ve made (on screen). I don’t do that in my personal life. As an actor, it’s a big blessing to step into someone else’s life, to learn from their experiences,” Thakur said.
“Every year, in Telugu cinema I do one film and I hope and pray that people will resonate with our film (‘Dacoit’), with Saraswati and enjoy the film,” she said.
The film, produced by Supriya Yarlagadda and presented by Annapurna Studios, and co-produced by Suniel Narang, is set to release on April 10. PTI KKP RB RB
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