Rakshit Shetty made her debut in Kannada film industry in 2010 with Arvind Kaushik’s film Name Ariel Ondina. He attracted fans with his acting and later filmmaking skills. On screen, he transitioned from a nerdy nerd to an intelligent actor who could toggle between comedy and action sequences with ease. Soon, Rakshit was seen wearing several hats: producer, director, writer…
The actor, with his distinctive analytical approach, goes back in time and tells metroplus About what he can do better and what he plans to do next.
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Edited excerpt:
How has been your journey in the industry so far?
It has been a journey of learning.
Though I had a passion for films, I never thought that I would become an actor. I always told myself that this would be a dream that could never come true.
My passion for cinema took off when I came to Bangalore and started working in the IT industry. I started by looking for short filmmakers and was keen to act, just to make my portfolio look good.
Slowly I found myself making short films on weekends and writing the story seriously ulidavaru khandante. Soon, cinema became my career and I believe I have learned enough from my successes and mistakes to continue working in this industry for a few more years.
Does coming from an IT background affect the way you do a project?
Although my stint with the IT industry was short, I realized that it had a structure for everything, which helped to make the work process easier and faster.
This helped the teams achieve their goals.
When I entered the industry, this was the only strategy I wanted to follow here as well. Since my team also has people from the IT sector, everything just fell into place or structure.
Were you struck by the uncertainty of the film industry?
Things definitely changed in many ways when I started working here, but no, it didn’t affect my work process.
popular with you Kirik Party And Avane Sriman Narayan (AVN). Yet, when people praise you, you say that there are many flaws that could have been avoided. What are they?
it was very clear Avni. People get restless when there is a long duration adventure/fantasy film. But, if it is an emotional story, you can have a three-hour film because people get attached to emotions easily. What is this Avni taught me.
one more set back for AvniI believe I tried to write the story using a structure, which probably killed the creativity or the flow. but Avni It has been a beautiful learning experience for me.
In 777 CharlieYou work with a pet. How easy or difficult was it to get emotional with the four-legged co-star?
It was a difficult task. We all loved Charlie, but she (yes, she’s a girl) takes 30 to 40 takes for each shot.
Because of this, I had to perform through each take as if it would be the last take. No one was sure when Charlie would correct the feelings or the moves. And, once she excelled in the shot, whether I did well or not, Kiran Raj (the director of the film) would shout ‘Çut!’ And refused to go inside to get another one!
We also took 150 days to shoot 777…, In that time, we could have shot two films!
You never remake. Why?
Being a storyteller myself, I believe I can use the resources and energy to tell a new story instead of just going into a remake.
Remaking is not fun. Also, people who have seen a film in their own language will not watch it again when it is made in another language. That’s why we need to be original, no matter what happens.
Despite having acclaimed films like ours Lucia, U-turn, Ulidavrao Khandante Or Ram Ram Re, To name a few… why do you think the Kannada industry has overtaken the Malayalam and Tamil industry?
I think that idea is changing now. The Malayalam film industry makes a special kind of cinema and so does the Tamil industry.
I believe we can make all kinds of cinema. The art of filmmaking itself is undergoing a major change where in a few years, it will be just cinema and will no longer be a ‘Kannada film’ or a ‘Malayalam film’.
Those boundaries are being broken because of OTT, which brings cinema from across the world to your home.