Do you remember how Bollywood actor Sonu Sood stepped in to help a farmer’s family when the photo of two girls ploughing their field went viral? The incident touched city-based actor Yethiraj so much that he has made a short film on his act of kindness. The film, titled Devadootha, was released on YouTube on Sept. 4.
According to Yethiraj, it takes a strong willpower for a man of such stature as Sonu Sood to go out of his way to help people in need.
“It is commendable. Sonu Sood decided to leave the comfort of his home to step out on the streets to help people from different quarters. He did the things that the government or any organisation could not do,” says the 45-year-old actor.
Yethiraj recreated the real-life incident wherein the Hindi film star helped a farmer named Nageswara Rao and his family by giving them a tractor.
“This particular incident really inspired me. The picture of Nageswara Rao along with his wife and two daughters ploughing their field in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, went viral. Everyone saw it, but it was only Sonu Sood who decided to help them,” says Yethiraj, who wishes to meet the Bollywood actor in person some day.
The 25-minute movie has Yethiraj playing the part of Nageswara Rao. For the other roles, he held auditions and finalised three newcomers – Chandana, Namitha and Yeshitha.
“After I selected the actors, I held a two-day workshop with them,” says Yethiraj. The movie, which took him two days to shoot and five days for post-production, has got over 2,000 views in the four days since its release.
Talking about the past few months, which have been tough for Sandalwood, Yethiraj says he did not let any negativity pull him down, and decided to take up making short films and posting them on his YouTube channel named Kalaavidha. Till now, he has made nine short films and all of them have been recreated.
“I don’t want to take anyone’s footage. All the short films have been directed by me,” says Yethiraj, who has directed a movie called Poorna Sathya, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
The actor-director, who has acted in over 25 teleserials and 153 movies across Kannada and Tamil film industries, now cannot wait to get back to work. “The lockdown has been lifted, but work is yet to come up. I hope new avenues open soon,” he adds.