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Exclusive! Naveen Chandra on Repeat: OTT takes you to unexpected corners across the country

The actor discusses his latest OTT release, Repeat, the changing tastes of the theatrical audience and how he fulfilled his long-awaited dream with Veera Simha Reddy

Exclusive! Naveen Chandra on Repeat: OTT takes you to unexpected corners across the country
Naveen Chandra

Last Updated: 05.28 PM, Dec 01, 2022

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Naveen Chandra has never been busier as an actor with nearly half a dozen releases already in 2022. His life has been revolving more around airports, shoots in the last couple of years and in the little time he gets between the two, he catches up on some sleep and finishes his daily workout (something he hasn’t missed out since four years). “It’s challenging but I’m finding a way to deal with it,” the actor shares while interacting with OTTplay.com about his thriller, Repeat, which released on Disney+ Hotstar today.

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Working on Repeat

Repeat was a film that was intended to be made in multiple languages. The story is about a cop (played by me) who comes from the Telugu states to Tamil Nadu to solve a case in secrecy. I shot my portions in Telugu but we initially had the idea to let the characters based in Chennai speak in Tamil and play it with subtitles to audiences. However, we thought it was too much of a gamble and thought that the Tamil portions should ideally be dubbed in Telugu to reach audiences better.

There can be various approaches to making a thriller but here in Repeat, the treatment was racy and my reactions had to be instantaneous. Vikram as a cop doesn’t take any time to respond because he’s so focused on his purpose. I shot for over 25 days for the film. I have been offered cop roles frequently in the recent past. When I was very tied up with work, Repeat came my way and I immediately said yes to the script. The idea was quite novel.

Working with Madhoo mam was a dream, I was instantly reminded of Roja and her image amidst the snow-capped mountains. We worked tirelessly on the film in a limited time. I am slightly tired of doing intense films revolving around crimes lately and looking forward to reinventing myself. I want to take up comedy, more so in the slice-of-life space that’s not driven by insults. I am listening to something very interesting and all I can say is that you’ll see me in a promising light-hearted fare next year.

Theatres and OTTs - equally relevant

As an actor, my only job is to act in a wide variety of roles without worrying about the medium. Theatres and OTT are equally relevant in today’s age and let’s be honest in acknowledging that the audience’s tastes have changed. Their expectation from a theatrical release is no longer the same and when I do my next film aimed at theatres, I would want to ensure that. OTT takes you to unexpected corners across the country. I’ve had people from North India claiming they watched me in Parampara.

Gearing up for the big Sankranti release - Veera Simha Reddy

I grew up in Bellary and I remember how watching Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi films for festivals was a rage in my college years i.e. nearly two decades ago. Bellary has a hard-core mass audience. We used to bring the reel boxes ourselves from the railway stations to the theatres and used to compete among ourselves on the size of the star’s cutouts. I am thrilled to have acted in Balakrishna garu’s film Veera Simha Reddy for Sankranti and be a small part of the festival now. From being his hardcore fan to acting with him in a crucial role is indeed a dream come true moment.

Making the most of the dream phase as an actor

All my life, I’ve been gearing up for this phase I’m going through, preserving my energy and giving it everything. I only eat vegetarian food, I neither smoke nor drink, and I don’t drive a two /four wheeler and ensure that I sleep for at least six-seven hours. If I don’t get that time, I settle for a power nap. More than anything, filmmaking is about money and you need to take care of the producer well and respect the time and energy of over 200 people on every set.

I am surrounded by a team that always keeps me positive and ensure I’m in the right mental space. Before I move on to a shoot of a different film, I at least prep for a couple of hours the day before the schedule. I interact with the director continuously, understand his requirements and ensure that I don’t waste the time of the unit due to communication issues. It was my dream to play all these characters, experiment and discover myself. Henceforth, I’ll make it a point to be choosy.

(Directed by Arvindh Srinivasan, Repeat is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar)

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