Ravi Bopanna marks Kavya Shetty’s first appearance alongside actor-filmmaker Ravichandran, and she got to experience first-hand the kind of actor and filmmaker he is. Kavya shares that a heroine in a Ravichandran film isn’t just about the glam but also about the potential to showcase the acting chops.
“The song, which is added into the film like a promotional bit, might make my role seem all glitz, but I play a character that has me play different shades between 25 to 50 years of age,” says Kavya Shetty on the sidelines of the film’s release on Aug 12. Sharing her experience of working with the Crazy Star, Kavya says, “When I first entered into the sets of Ravi Bopanna, I took time to understand the scenes he was shooting.
For every film, I would be part of, I would prefer to have the dialogues so that I can be prepared, which wasn’t the case with Ravi Bopanna. Ravichandran sir prefers to give us dialogues on the spot. Whatever preparations and improvisations had to be done then and there. He would show us every expression, and teach us the body language required for the role.
Even the minutest details of what comes on the screen are his creativity. With Ravi Bopanna, I also learned how to control my expressions,” says Kavya, adding, “Acting alongside him is much easier. Facing the camera in his direction is difficult because he looks for that minute perfection. Working with him was quite a different experience from my other films because he is a director who is also an actor,” she says.
The film also has share romantic sequences with Ravichandran, and talking about filming these scenes, Kavya says, “On the first day of the song sequence, I couldn’t get the movements right, and I practiced at least 50 times before I gave the final shot. Being sensual with an actor of that experience, I had to make sure his vision was justified.
Honestly, there were times I hesitated, and was scared during the song sequence because he had decorated the sets with fire, and shots had to be filmed at the right moments. There were times I felt the fire was next to my face, but he kept instilling confidence. Working for this song made me understand where the crazy tag for him comes from.
To me, this film was a different experience.” Apart from Ravi Bopanna, Kavya is also looking forward to the release of her Tamil film, Captain, starring Arya, which is slated to release on September 8. She also has Gurthunda Seethakalam, a Telugu film directed by Nagashekar, in which she stars with Satyadev and Tamannaah. “I’m also part of Ashoka Blade, starring Sathish Ninasam, which is currently on floors,” she says.