Shooting the 2010 portions of Sapta Sagaradaache Ello during the pandemic was tough, says director Hemanth M Rao

Director Hemanth M Rao’s second collaboration with Rakshit Shetty, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, is coming to theatres in two parts, 50 days apart, on September 1 and October 20, respectively. The film, which Hemanth has often described as an intense love story – a first for him and Rakshit – has the leading man in two very distinctive looks. This, we are told, is to signify two time periods in his character Manu’s life and has him in a much heavier world-weary avatar with scars on his face in one look.

Hemanth has explained that the film’s narrative is set in 2010 and 2020, both of which he shot during the pandemic, when lockdown relaxations had just come in. The challenge, he says, was in canning the 2010 portions in live locations. This was the section of the film that Hemanth shot first. Apart from ensuring that the backdrop and the props used were in sync with how things were 12-13 years ago, he also had to be very careful that none of the people who even inadvertently were in the frame did not sport masks. In fact, the filmmaker says that he often worried about asking people to remove their masks, as he feared they would catch the virus because of him.

My team had to be on the lookout for the kind of vehicles passing by, the posters and other graffiti on the walls, and pretty much any technological advancement beyond 2010 and make sure it was not in our frame. The bigger problem, he added, was that he could not procure permission to shoot at several locations that he wanted to owing to the pandemic. In places where they could shoot, Hemanth had to maintain strict safety protocols, including getting the entire team vaccinated, mandatory wearing of masks and more. The 2020 section then, Hemanth added, became much easier, because he did not have to worry about elements in the backdrop or of having people with masks on.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello has been produced by Rakshit’s Paramvah Studios and is being distributed by KVN Productions.