‘Team work is the essence of Ricky’
Rakshit Shetty feels that some movies clearly reflect the team’s passion with the subject. “Ricky is one of those films, where team’s participation is quite evident even though director. Rishab called the shots. We all got pushed ourselves to do better,” he says.
According to the actor, he had the freedom to get involved in every process of the film because of his close bonding with director and friend, Rishab Shetty. “I gave him suggestions and he took them and gave a different perspective. I used to sit with the dialogue writers and we worked together only to make it better. I also cut the trailer of the film. It was possible because of the rapport we had developed between us and the team,” the actor says.
For the actor, the film is a commercial love story with another layer of real life incidents stitched into the script. “Along with love which is universal, the film has some social relevant messages. The best part of Ricky is that there is not one but two protagonists. It is the journey of two characters, the male and the female, which uplifts the potential of the film, making it distinct,” he says and adds that while most of today's films are male-oriented, families are stuck inside their living room watching serials as they are mostly female-oriented soaps. “Ricky, in that way, will attract the family audience,” he asserts.
The actor, who is looking for the evasive big break, hopes that he comes back with a bang with Ricky. “I came to this industry to be an actor. In fact, my career as a director started because I wanted to be in front of the camera. When I thought that nobody will give me a break, I wrote Ulidavaru Kandante. Nevertheless, direction is my passion, and will do it once in two years. I do have a lot of films in my kitty, but right now I hope for a big break from Ricky,” he says
‘I was emotionally connected with Ricky’
According to Hariprriya, while every film has been a turning point in her career, Ricky will take her to the next level. “It is a rare subject which required not just hard work but complete dedication. I watched the film with the team and I was satisfied,” she says.
One of the major challenges for Hariprriya in Ricky was losing weight, especially to portray the Naxalite portions. “I was shooting for Ranna then and in between preparing for my character in Ricky. I survived on proteins and juices for 30 odd days. I don’t believe in being lean and prefer to lead a healthy life. Thankfully, I can easily gain and lose weight, which actually helped to play my role in Bullet Basha, Ricky and Neer Dose, which is my current project. For Ricky, weight was not the issue, but the two shades that I play as Radha and Sita. I had to be lovable as well as stubborn with my voice, expressions and my body language,” she explains.
The actress asserts that Ricky was one film in which she got connected while in the making. “There was a special bonding with the story, the making and the team. Another film, where I also got connected while playing the character is my Tamil film Vaaraayo Vennilaave, which will be released soon,” she says.