Adivi Sesh made an unusual debut with Karma. A handful of supporting roles later, he eked out a space for himself in the Telugu industry with experimental films like Kshanam, Ami Thumi, Goodachari, and Evaru—all solid scripts that demanded subtlety in performance. Now, Sesh is venturing into the Hindi industry with his upcoming bilingual-biopic, Major, in which he will be playing the character of the 26/11 martyr, Major Sandeep Unni Krishnan.
“The story struck a chord within me, and I identified with the character of Sandeep a lot,” he says. “I was in the US when I learned the tragic news of Sandeep’s death during the 26/11 attacks. He looked like my older brother and I was shaken that a handsome and patriotic youngster, who had achieved much for his age, died so early.” The actor, who has also written the film, delves into the research that went behind the script: “I collected Sandeep’s pictures and saved all articles about him.
When I felt I was ready to do this film, I approached his parents to learn more about this great man’s life. They gave me a complete perspective of who he was. Our film depicts the life of this martyr, with details few people are aware of.” Sesh is particularly excited that Mahesh Babu and Sony Pictures have placed their bets on him as producers. “They have given us complete freedom and I’m honoured to work with such big names,” says Sesh. The 34-year-old says that the team is in no hurry about shooting. “We have shot 40 per cent, and are aware of the kind of movie we are making.
We have a long way to go and are proud of what we have done so far. This story requires detailing and we are being careful and faithful to Sandeep’s journey.” The challenge, Sesh says, is recreating the periods and places Sandeep lived in. “It is not possible to shoot in all the actual locations he has worked in. So we have worked on authentically recreating them.
We are waiting for the Covid-19 curve to flatten, so we can resume proceedings,” shares the actor, who will be dubbing for himself in Hindi too. Sesh believes in physical transformation to suit characters he plays. “I had to lose about eight kilos and learn a lot to get into the character of an Army officer. These are the people who work at the border in zero degrees temperature. When I was shooting at the Indo- China border, I would run away after work and hide under layers of blankets. But that’s not the case with the real officers. I have tried to bring that authenticity. All I can say is that this role is a total departure from what people have seen in my earlier films,” he tells us.