Actor Nirup Bhandari, who enjoyed the supporting presence of his brother, Anup Bhandari, who directed both his previous films - Rangitaranga and Rajaratha — is out of his comfort zone for his third outing — Aadi Lakshmi Purana.
“Yes, I did have the cushion of my brother and my father on the sets, as he was the executive producer of the two films. Anup would tell me if something was not right, saying I could better it. Likewise, I had the liberty of asking for one more take, if I needed it.
We think alike, and our wavelength matched. However, I was equally happy to get associated with another director. V Priya was a stranger till yesterday, but today, we have built a good rapport,” Nirup said during a telephonic conversation with City Express.
He added that when he came to know that he would be working with a new director, he started interacting with Priya a lot.
"She is very passionate about her work. The various meetings with her helped me develop a good rapport,” he recalled.
“During our frequent conversations, we also realised that we had similar tastes in films. Initially, the story was narrated to me in English.
The process of getting it translated in Kannada by Prashanth Rajappa also helped me understand her thought process. The preparation came in handy when I entered the sets.
Also, I had Rockline Venkatesh Sir’s support, and he made sure I was comfortable.
Given that this is just my third, I feel honoured to have bagged a good project under a big production house,” Nirup said.
The actor plays Aadi, a sincere and focused cop who works with zero distraction. But when he falls in love, things start changing, and affect his relationship with his parents.
“In a way, the theme of Aadi Lakhsmi Purana is like a comedy of errors, wherein one thing leads to something else. All this is narrated in an entertaining way,” he said.
The film has not just a female director, but also a lot of women on the sets, including actors, assistant directors, sound engineers, and costume designers.
On his experience of working with them, Nirup said, “No one selected them because they are women; they were signed up because of their talent. It is wonderful of Rockline Sir to back a project headed by a woman director.
Personally for me, it didn’t make much of a difference because I was looking at them as skilled professionals, and it was like doing any other film.
However, I also understood that women have a different way of approaching a scene, especially in terms of emotions. There is nothing right or wrong about this.”
Nirup also got to explore a little more of his acting skills in Aadi Lakhsmi Purana. “In the first two films —Rangitaranga, and Rajaratha— we had kept the action very realistic, and to the script. Here, for the first time, I happened to do a commercial fight.
The action director, who was initially hesitant about whether I could perform action, changed his opinion after a few shots. I like doing action films,” said Nirup, adding, ‘This apart, I have worked on the comedy timing, which has worked well for us in the film.”
For Nirup, who is sharing screen space with Radhika Pandit in Aadi Lakhsmi Purana, it felt reassuring to see an established actor taking her craft so seriously.
“When I entered the film industry, I had in my mind a list of people to work with, and among the heroines, Radhika was definitely among the top names.
I am glad I got this opportunity. She never takes her work for granted, and comes prepared and open for discussion,” he concludes.