Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep completes 26 years in the world of entertainment this year and he claims he couldn’t have asked for a better landmark release than his fantasy adventure ‘Vikrant Rona’.
“In the last 26 years, people have given me lot of love towards my cinema. And, as I celebrate 26 years, what better film than this to celebrate my career milestone?” asked Sudeep in an interview with Gulf News.
Sudeep, who’s known for his inimitable on-screen swag and immense star power, had it all planned, but his neatly laid intention to premiere his labour of love in Dubai on July 27 didn’t work out since he suddenly fell ill and thought it best not to travel.
But that didn’t deter him from sending us voice notes as he recuperated back home in India. It’s Sudeep’s first theatrical release after the pandemic. Directed and written by Anup Bhandari, ‘Vikrant Rona’ is a big-budget spectacle that throws the spotlight on Sudeep’s swag as a policeman.
“We are out there and we always do the best in the love for cinema. Cinema has given me everything and therefore I am passionate about making it … This is just the beginning of my new innings,” said Sudeep.
The actor, with a large fan base and who has acted in Bollywood films such as ‘Dabangg 3’ and ‘Phoonk 1 & 2’, is also armed with an interesting theory. He strongly feels that he doesn’t need a visual spectacle to maintain his appeal with his devoted army of followers.
“Whether we fly or not, it’s irrelevant because our fans look at us as superheroes. It’s the love of my people that has made us superheroes in their eyes,” said Sudeep.
As his film releases in the UAE cinemas this week, we talked to Sudeep about pushing the barriers with ‘Vikrant Rona’, handling haters, and more.
Here’s Sudeep’s take on …
Pushing boundaries with ‘Vikrant Rona’:
“This was my first adventure-driven film in my career and I loved every bit of it, even the protocols taken during the shoot. It feels amazing to be in such a vast arena and when you are doing something for the first time in your career, you enjoy the process immensely … We have all done heroic films in the past, but with ‘Vikrant Rona’ the feather in our proverbial cap is that it’s a content-driven film. There’s a lot of emotional depth, along with heroism. The approach to my character is new and novel. The way this film is made is unique too.
Filming an epic film in ‘Vikrant Rona’ during a raging pandemic:
“The challenges were very high and frequent. The pandemic triggered a definite fear. When we began shooting for this film, half of the world was inside their houses locked up and we lived in constant fear. We knew were following protocols in safety till the last letter, but we still worried. But when I look back today, we feel great that we pulled it off. It took a lot of discipline from our team to see things through. But it is remarkable that we managed to make it all happen. So today, it feels good to see this film hit the screens. But I have always believed strongly in the process of filmmaking and I believe that you need nature’s support while making any film. Nature stood by us and is still standing by us.”
Choosing Dubai to reveal the teaser of his ambition film at the Burj Khalifa:
“The moment where we saw the Burj Khalifa light up with our film was a remarkable moment in my life and to stand before it was humbling and towering. It’s a moment that I will always cherish in my life because it was an indication that our film is a global movie that will go places … When we take our films anywhere within our country or outside India, the memories will always be precious. Our goal and aim is to make a story which will help us penetrate other zones. Story telling is a powerful tool here.”
Handling highs and lows in life:
“The highs and lows are a part of an actors’ career and life. I have handle both my highs and my lows with ease. Honestly, I find handling the low phases more rewarding and challenging because it teaches us life lessons on what to do and how to tackle the dark phases. While being successful is a beautiful feeling and that’s what I work for, those good phases rarely teach us anything. I went through low phases earlier on my career and it made me understand how to get closer to success. Since I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly in my career early on, I am able to handle the highs and the lows with ease.”
Dealing with hate and trolls on social media:
“I don’t look into trolling and I don’t dwell on the negative side. I strongly believe that life is all about being positive and embracing the positive parts that life has to offer. Remember, there’s a lot of goodness and good people everywhere. I want to stay connected to the good part of life. Otherwise, you mind is vulnerable. Just because there’s a camera trailing us, there’s no need to react to every bad thing that’s written about us. Focus on the goodness that comes from certain people. My reactions are always reserved for the good people rather than the haters and faceless trolls … As an actor and a performer, I do my job and as long as I am legally right in life, all’s good. As long as the cops or the law won’t come knocking at my door, I am good. The day they knock at my door is when I realise that I have gone wrong somewhere. I always go by instincts when it comes to my work and I enjoy my work.”
Utilising Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) as a currency to promote his new film [His wife launched a Dubai-based Koffee & Bunn Innovatiions along with BlockTickets for NFT ticketing for Vikrant Rona]:
“The NFT idea was purely my wife Priya’s dream. She has done a lot of research and development into the same. It’s exciting to see it all happen. But my passion is still cinema and anything to do with cinema, I am game for it all. Cinema has given me a lot.”
My biggest idol is my dad who has given me his all
Don’t Miss It!
‘Vikrant Rona’ is out in UAE cinemas now
