Amidst continuous screenings for a select few, the biopic of Chinthakindi Mallesham has been garnering praise. Take for instance how much KTR himself raved about how important he thought this film was. However, Priyadarshi who played the titular role in Mallesham, wasn’t prepared for this kind of acclaim for the film.
“When the film was being made, I thought people will think ‘good attempt’ and move on to the films that we usually watch and I would go back to doing the films I do as I would anyway. But I hadn’t expected that it would stand out and touch hearts. We were so delved into the process of making the film that bringing out a great product was the only thing we focused on. We hadn’t thought about how people will receive it or how far this will go,” says Darshi.
A theatre student and a UOH alumni, Priyadarshi admits that he has always felt acting was his calling. How he built his career however wasn’t exactly how he had imagined. He says, “Much before all of this, I never thought I’d make a comedian. Nothing against the job, it involves making people happy and sometimes even saving a film. But as an actor you feel you have a path to take. The books you read, the films you appreciate carve a path that you feel you have to take as an actor. We would look at Chaplin and also look at the story he is telling about the era of Industrialisation. As comedians here we come on set and we find out what the shot is and go for it! But that is the kind of spontaneity that works in comedy. But when I was approached with this film I knew I had to do enough to make sure I don’t screw up.”
In an industry that probably has the most comedians than any other industry in the country, Priyadarshi wonders why that quantum of artistes are not exploited to the fullest. “Actors in neighbouring industries are trying very distinct things. Rajkumar Rao or Pankaj Tripathi can leave us in splits in a film like Sthree but can also jerk us out in performances like theirs in Newton. I often wonder why we never picked that up. Our seniors like Brahmanandam did a Babai Hotel, Kota garu has been playing a plethora of characters in his career. With so many young artists now available there is so much more scope to use them in many ways than one,” he says.
All said and done, the funny side of him does peek through in the conversation. He quips that Raj, the director of the film had possibly picked him because no one else would give him the dates. On a serious note he explains, “I don’t know why he chose me for it but he told me that he had me in his mind when he started considering making the film. He had seen my videos and my work since before Pelli Choopulu and actually believed that I was the one for the job. I am really grateful to him for that.”
Mallesham, a man who revolutionised an entire form of weaving because he couldn’t see his mother in pain, is a person whose story needs to be told. Darshi feels the same. He thought it important to embody him in the closest way possible and tried to get to know what goes on in that mind. “He is a man of minimalism he doesn’t say much or wear much. He just makes sense when he speaks. His journey is unorthodox and groundbreaking. But when you ask him how this was all possible, he just says, ‘My mother was ill. I couldn’t watch her suffer. So I helped her.’ It’s that simple in his mind. And I think this is the greatest love story I have ever heard in my life.”
Darshi also adds, “It is a story that needs to be put on a pedestal. And that vision was shared by every person who worked on this film. From what we saw in the last few screenings, we have hit the ball out of the park.
The writer can be contacted at srividya.palaparthi@newindianexpress.com and via Twitter - @PSrividya53