Director Purushotham Raaj: I broke all the stereotypes of a detective film with Bhoothaddam Bhaskar Narayana

Bhoothaddam Bhaskar Narayana, the detective thriller, starring Shiva Kandukuri, Rashi Singh in the lead, marks the directorial debut of Purushotham Raaj. Ahead of the film’s release on March 31, the makers unveiled the teaser today (launched by Teja Sajja). At the teaser launch event, the first-time director spoke of his experiences working with a committed team for his debut.

“A friend had told me that Rahul, the producer of Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, was looking for another detective script and had a title in mind for it (Agent Bobby). That’s where my journey with this film began. I hail from Chennai and was stuck in Hyderabad during the lockdown and I used the time to pen this script. Now, that the teaser is out, I hope audiences like it,” Purushotham said.

It’s not easy to make a compelling detective film on the lines of Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya and we tweaked several tropes of the genre for this, he added. “Agents are generally portrayed as orphans; here he belongs to a middle class family. They don’t have a love life either; he has a romantic interest in this film and is relatable. The crime element in the film is unique and I hope audiences like it.”

The filmmaker revealed he constantly argued with the producers Snehal Jangala, Shashidhar Kasi, Karthik Mudumbi but said they were so involved in the making they could be mistaken for his associates too. “Despite being a Hindi speaking heroine and minimal preparation, Rashi Singh was effortless with her dialogues,” the director mentioned.

He ravished praise on his lead actor Shiva Kandukuri, calling him an actor with the brain of an IIT entrance topper. “Shiva knows my script better than me and was constantly striving to give his best. He worked hard during the workshops and I’m sure his performances will draw applause from crowds.” He expressed his gratitude to actors Varshini, Siva Kumar, composers Sricharan Pakala, Vijai Bulganin for their contributions.