Vinnod Prabhakar: Maadeva was offered to some other heroes, but they rejected it because…

The biggest selling point for Vinnod Prabhakar was that his films usually had high demand for Hindi dubbing rights, provided there were at least 4-5 fight sequences in these movies. This, however, ground to a halt during the pandemic, and it was then that the actor was approached to play the lead in Khaki-maker Naveen Reddy’s next, Maadeva. Naveen had shopped his film to a few other heroes before approaching Vinnod and had met with rejection everywhere he went.

Vinnod Prabhakar on the USP of his character in Maadeva

Navagraha actor Vinnod, though, jumped at the opportunity. “When Naveen took the film to a couple of other heroes, they rejected it because the variations in the protagonist’s character was a problem, as well as the fact that he hardly has anything to say in the film. The protagonist is a hangman, who goes from being feral like an animal, to being a mild-mannered family person and is then pushed to extremes again owing to certain circumstances,” the actor explained.

The biggest challenge of taking on the character, says Vinnod, was that for the most part, he had to convey every motion in his eyes, or his body language, without uttering a word. But all of this excited Vinnod, who saw an opportunity to show audiences that he is more than just six-pack-abs flaunting hero who can fight well. The actor started with getting his look right, including changing his hair colour and using coloured lenses in his eyes for more impact. He also toned down his mannerisms to play a man of few words.

But then, his co-star Sonal (Banaras, Panchatrantra ) would make it difficult for him to perform, he says. “We’d worked together on Roberrt earlier and back then we barely knew each other. But over time, we became close friends and she got married to my pal and Roberrt director, Tharun Sudhir. By the time we began shooting for Maadeva, there was a certain rapport and comfort factor and she’d make me laugh all the time, especially when she was on set for suggestion shots. It was difficult to keep a straight face and perform,” the actor reminisces fondly.