In December 1989, ‘Idhuthanda Police’, the Telugu-dubbed film, hit the screens and was largely appreciated for both its racy dialogues and actor Dr Rajasekhar’s magnetic performance.
Immediately after the release of the film, an array of cop stories made its entry, and each film set the box-office ringing.
Despite a dozen or more blockbusters, however, ‘Idhuthanda Police’ remains an all-time favourite cop movie among the audiences. After 22 years, Dr Rajasekhar is back on screen, donning the same cop role for the sequel, ‘Idhuthanda Police 2’.
His wife, Jeevitha, who was also his co-star in the original version, dons the role of director for the sequel. “I’ve been thinking of making a sequel to ‘Idhuthanda Police’ for a long time. But I didn’t get the proper script to make the film. Recently, I read a script and I was hooked. I decided to title the film ‘Idhuthanda Police 2’,” says Rajasekhar, who hails from a police family.
Titled ‘Mahankali’ in Telugu, the veteran actor will pair up with Madhurima and playing the villains are Pradeep Rawat and Saleem Panda. While in the original version the movie ends with a little boy becoming orphaned, in part 2, the story continues with the little boy growing up and becoming a cop. The two-hour film has no duets.
“The movie will be a realistic film unlike ‘Idhuthanda Police’. When I watch the film now, I feel I’ve over-acted, but the audiences loved it. When I was discussing the sequel with my family, we decided to make it as real as possible,” he says, adding that the audience will not be able to spot any difference between the heroes in both films.
Thanks to his practice in alternative medicine, Rajasekhar believes that he looks as young as his character in ‘Idhuthanda Police’. “In Hyderabad, there are many patients who visit me,” he says. “In my daughter’s school, everyone calls me a magician as I can cure any health-related issues.”
For all his magic with other patients, Rajasekhar couldn’t wave a wand and heal himself. But he remains adamant that he can recover in four months. Says Jeevitha, “When we were shooting a chase scene for the film at the Kilpauk Mental Hospital on May 30, Rajasekhar met with an accident and was severely injured. We initially planned to release the movie in July. But due to the accident, we had to postpone the shooting. If he rests for a month, we will start shooting again.”
Rajasekhar adds that the sequel will deal with present social issues and how an honest policeman faces hardships from politicians. “The protagonist of the film is a cop who is trigger-happy but has a justifiable reason behind every encounter. It’s his way of bringing the criminals to justice,” explains Jeevitha. This is the actor-turned- director’s fourth film with Rajasekhar, after ‘Seshu’ (a remake of ‘Sethu’), ‘Udambu Eppadi Iruku’ and ‘Sathyamavae Jayathae’.
Back in Andhra Pradesh, the actor couple is known for their frank opinions about politicians. “We joined parties and have seen politicians in close proximity,” she says. “He (Rajasekhar) is very outspoken and that didn’t go down well with other politicians. But these experiences have helped us make our next film, which will deal with politics-related issues.”
Directed by Telugu director, Kanmani, Rajasekhar will be playing a dual role (father and son) in the untitled bilingual movie. “We’re also producing another movie that will be directed by choreographer-turned- director Amma Rajasekhar,” says Jeevitha.