Exclusive! Krishnaa set to make Tollywood debut as Keerthy Suresh’s pal in Sarkaru Vaari Paata

It would not be wrong to say that Krishnaa, who made her debut as leading lady with Savarnadeergha Sandhi in 2019, comes from a filmi family. Her father is veteran actor Ravi Bhat, while actress Vinaya Prasad is her aunt. And yet, the young actress has just moved lock stock and barrel to Mumbai to strike out on her own and not rely on any family connection. While there, she took up an opportunity to work in the direction department as an assistant for a Hindi film. “It was quite an eye-opener and very fascinating, as it exposed me to various facets of filmmaking that I would have never known if I only remain an actor,” says Krishnaa. Is she looking at switching careers to behind the camera? “Oh no, this was a one-off thing, but then, you never know, I wouldn’t rule it out in the long run,” she adds.

Her next project, which marks Krishna’s foray into Tollywood, happened because of her association with the Hindi film. “Last year, around August, I had come to Mumbai, to meet a few friends I had met during the making of that film. The plan was to stay for about 10 days, but I ended up being here for a month, and through some connection, my portfolio pictures reached Mythri Movie Makers, the banner behind Mahesh Babu’s Sarkaru Vaari Paata . In fact, I had been approached by them a year earlier, but that didn’t pan out then, because filming was postponed due to the pandemic. Finally, when I was back in touch with them, they told me that they would be shooting in Spain, and that they’d give me a nice role along with Keerthy Suresh (the lead heroine), as part of her friends’ gang. Sarkaru Vaari Paata is a formulaic commercial film, so, I am not sure how many of my scenes will make it to the final edit, but I did end up shooting for a good while in Barcelona and Valencia, which was fun. I had never before faced the camera for such a big production, except for the late Puneeth Rajkumar’s Raajakumara, in which I had a miniscule role. Here, I have a bigger role,” says Krishnaa, adding that once the shoot was done, she extended her trip by 10 days to holiday in Spain with a friend. “It was a proper work plus vacation kind of situation,” she adds.

How different was it working in Tollywood though, because back home, on account of her father and aunt, Krishnaa is known in filmi circles, which was not the case there? “Nobody knew me or my family background there and my casting also happened through an agency. Refreshingly, I found some really nice people to talk to and hang out with. Mahesh Babu is very quiet on set, but he’s extremely professional. Normally, shoots can be tiresome, but here, since Mahesh Babu is one of the producers, he would insist on the work getting done fast and it was interesting to watch someone with that level of professionalism,” says Krishnaa, adding, “Keerthy Suresh was also quite fun to work with; we had a lot of scenes together.” One of the issues of playing a supporting character, though, is that one tends to get typecast, making it difficult to break back into doing lead roles. “I realize that, which is why this will be the only film in which I do a supporting role. It was a good break and I took it up,” she quips.

After her last Kannada film, Savarnadeergha Sandhi, Krishnaa had worked on an Indie film called Kid Happy, about a biracial man’s quest to find his father, a revolutionary-turned-guru. Directed by Kris Cheppaikode, for whom the film is a fictionalized account of his personal story, the film stars Naren Weiss as Kal, a biracial American who comes to India in search of his father. Along the way, he meets Mallika, a modern-day girl, played by Krishnaa. The film was in post-production just before the pandemic hit. What’s the status now? “Unfortunately, we are still in post-production; first, the delay was because of the pandemic, and then there were monetary issues, as this is small project with limited funds. Right now, the editor is on paternity leave, so we are putting it together step-by step. I have seen a few rushes of the film, though, and I quite liked what I saw. As such, I was sold when I heard the script and I think the film is also shaping up well. It’s fine if it is a slow and steady progress. That’s been the story of my life, anyway. I am really excited for the product that is going to come out,” she says.