Deepti Sati knows that when chance comes knocking, all she has to do is grab it as it will help realise her dreams. And when the makers of Jaguar called, she knew that her time had come to cling on to the big dream. Although, unlike established actresses, this one-film-old newbie has an advantage of not having the burden of expectation from the audience, but still she avers that the people and the banner behind the film is what makes it more special.
The bilingual film produced by H D Kumaraswamy with Nikhil Kumar in the lead is made in Kannada and Telugu. It is directed by A Mahadev while the script is written by SS Rajamouli’s father Vijayendra Prasad. Jagapathi Babu, Sampath, Brahmanandam, Sadhu Kokila are among others in the star cast.
Speaking about landing the role, she says, “After my first film Nee-Na, I auditioned for the Jaguar team who were in Mumbai. They liked the way I portrayed the character and here I am, almost completing my first schedule.”
And according to the actress, it was the team which is making her second outing memorable and a learning experience in acting. “Jaguar has given me an opportunity to work with the best technicians including director Mahadev and director of photography Manoj Paramahamsa among others. Of course, I was clueless when I started, but slowly I got comfortable and it was only possible because I had an opportunity to work with an amazing team. Specially for a newcomer like me, who does not know any South Indian languages, the makers were patient,” she says and adds that the team is organised and had given the dialogues well in advance. “The most challenging part is that after the Kannada shot, I had to reshoot the same sequence in Telugu, emoting in the same way. Honestly, it may sound easy, but it was very challenging to give the same expressions again,” she points out.
Hailing from Nainital and settled in Mumbai, Deepti states that her passion for languages made her experience a little easier. “I have got the love for language trait from my father who knows about eight languages. I now understand Kannada and Telugu very well though I am weak in grammar,” she says
Deepti landed sometime during January at the Infosys campus in Mysuru, which was turned into a college campus. Having spent almost three months at the campus, she says it was more like a mini holiday and also a place where everything is well maintained and pollution-free. “It was more like a college atmosphere. We lived a student’s life, cycling to go around. When I watched a few shots, I felt we were shooting in some foreign location,” she says.
Not revealing much about her role, the actress says that she plays a happy-go-lucky girl. “The character I get to play is versatile and helps me to portray myself as an artiste. More than considering this film as a platform to get future offers, I was glad to be working with experienced hands. Not being to an acting school, I realise how much I have been learning from this project,” she says.
While she gears up to match Nikhil's dancing skills, Deepti says that she is a trained Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancer. “I started learning Bharatanatyam when I was 4. I have learnt Bharathanatyam for 10 years and Kathak for 8 years and I was with Shaimak Davar’s group, learning various other dance moves. Nikhil is a good dancer and with help from choreographer Shobi Master, hopefully I will be able to match his steps,” she remarks.
The makers are planning their next schedule in Chennai, where they will be shooting the climax scene. Later, they will be heading to Shanghai for the songs. “The first part of the film takes place in Mysuru,” reveals Deepti and adds that she had visited Chamundi temple during her stay. “I went to seek blessings for our film,” she says.