Directed by G. Ashok, this horror tale in Tamil and Telugu features Anushka Shetty in the lead and an ensemble of Malayalam stars.
Anushka Shetty’s Devasena in Baahubali was a picture of grace and dignity. Devasena, despite her dishevelled hair and bound by fetters, carried an aura of inner strength about her.
Shetty returns with another interesting role in Bhaagamathi. She plays Chanchala/Sanchala (Tamil/Telugu), an honest IAS Officer who soon becomes the target of a corrupt bureaucracy.
Malayalam actors Jayaram, Unni Mukundan and Asha Sharath essay important supporting roles. While Unni Mukundan plays a social activist, Jayaram is a central minister and Asha Sharath takes on the role of a CBI Officer.
“It’s a screenplay-oriented thriller,” says G. Ashok.
His story grew from incidents he says happened to some people he knew.
“There are situations that viewers may have seen and experienced,” said Ashok, but he declines to reveal more. He narrated the story to Shetty in 2012 but she was already committed to Baahubali and Rudhramadevi.
“I decided to wait for her dates as I could not envision anyone else as Bhaagamathie,” he says.
Shetty has two looks in the story, and Ashok says she was fully committed to her character.
“She was always asking questions and looking for details in the graph of the character. This role is beyond what she did in Arundhati [another Telugu film].”
“It was a joy working with her, she is a star with no airs.”
Bhaagamathi was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu and subsequently dubbed in Malayalam. S. Thaman has scored music. R. Madhi is the cinematographer.
Ashok came into films as a six-year-old child actor. An adept dancer, he assisted Telugu choreographer D.K.S. Babu in films during his college days. Today he is well versed in 13 forms of dance.
During a learning stint of salsa and Zumba in the UK, he also did a course in film-direction.
Ashok’s documentary Nava Jeevan on child labour won appreciation at the 2002 Hollywood Film Festival.
Ushodayam, his first children’s film, won Telugu cinema’s Nandi award in 2007. Aakasa Ramanna was his debut film, while Bhaagamathi is his fifth film.
Produced by UV Creations and Studio Green, Bhaagamathie releases in the UAE on January 26.
