The upcoming Telugu horror thriller 'Pindam' is slated to release in theatres worldwide on December 15. Directed by Saikiran Daida, the film features Srikanth Sriram, Kushee Ravi, Srinivas Avasarala, Easwari Rao, Ravi Varma. Other cast members include Manik Reddy, Baby Chaitra, Baby Leisha, Vijayalakshmi and Srilatha in crucial roles.
The movie is produced by Yeshwanth Daggumati and co-produced by Prabu Raja. The story is written by Saikiran Daida, Kavi Siddhartha and Toby Osborne.
Actress Kushee Ravi, who is playing a pregnant woman in the film, interacted with the print/web journalists on Wednesday. Here are the excerpts.
Q) When the makers of Pindam approached you for the character, what was your initial reaction?
The first question that I asked them was why only me could fit into the character. When I first read the synopsis of the script, I was like -- Should I play this mother character with two kids and one carrying? Because this is my first Telugu film. And the taste of Telugu film industry is quite different from all other industries. It's fanbase is different. Later when I introspected myself, let's take up this role and see what audience would feel. Because my role in Diya was different. I got good appreciation for it.
Q) Do you personally like this kind of horror genre?
My mentor Ashok sir, who directed Diya, would always tell me that I should break the pattern in films. He keeps telling me that I should not be doing the same kind of roles everytime. Versatility should be there. Horror films are the scary ones.
Q) What kind of homework have you done before playing your role?
In general, I keep observing people a lot. For an actor, if you keep observing films stars you tend to replicate them on the screen. If you watch general public, you tend to take their mannerisms. Audiences would get connected to it. Coming to prepping myself to the character, I watched pregnant woman a lot.
Q) Don't you think accepting a role of pregnant woman initially in Tollywood industy would hamper you chances of getting good roles?
I don't have that insecurity feeling. Post lockdown, the taste of audience has been changed. Before films would have some item numbers with masala-laced stories, but later audiences have evolved to accept content-oriented stories. So I may play a pregnant woman in Pindam now, I might play a different role altogether in a film in future.
Q)Why do you think ghosts target women and children?
I never experienced such eerie feeling, personally. I didn't even dare to venture into the dark anytime. I am a 'darpok'. I have not finished a horror film till date. I happened to shoot in horror film Pindam in bits and pieces. So there was not much impact on me. When the final output has come out, it would run a chill down the spine.
Q) What's your experience working with co-star Sriram?
I happened to watch all his work before coming on to the film sets of Pindam. Initially, I was nervous. I thought I should look like a proper Telugu girl and be ready with all my lines. Telugu and Kannada are like a sister-brother language, it has a same 'lipi'. Sriram garu would guide me through my lines since I am new to the language. Whenever I was in the frame he used to assist me.
Q) Sriram garu praised you a lot during the press meet. He said Kushee Ravi is a brilliant actor and he had to prepared himself more perfectly for every scene. What's your reaction?
It is so sweet of him. Yeah, I was prepping myself like that. It is so nice to hear my co-star praising me. It motivates me so much. Even in the sets, Sriram garu had praised me many times. We have done the 90s timeline. I am 90s kid, we have seen how my elders had faced struggles during that time. I used to take all that experience before the camera and he got connected and liked it.
Q) Post the release of Pindam, how well Telugu audiences will receive it?
People will get connected to my character Mary, hopefully. Telugu people are at the forefront in welcoming fresh talent from other industries, hopefully Pindam will land me fresh roles in the coming future.
Q) How was working with producers who are also newcomers in the industry?
Sai Kiran garu and Yeshwanth garu were so good. I have never done a film like this. We shot in August, it was completed in September. Post-production got over in October and November. I got a call from my manager saying Pindam is getting released in December. I was surprised at how fast this young team of filmmakers have worked on the project. Sai Kiran knew what he wanted. Yeshwanth garu was not compromising on things. Camera work from Satish garu is amazing with his work. Fortunate to have worked with a team of this sort.
