Actor Sananth Reddy will perhaps be in Hyderabad – or Bengaluru – today to watch the first show of his latest movie, Mercury. Directed by Karthik Subbaraj, the much-awaited silent movie stars Prabhudeva, Sananth and Indhuja, among others.
Sanath Reddy has been quite choosy about his projects. In the three years that he’s been in the industry, the actor has been a part of just four films — Demonte Colony, Jil Jung Juk among the lot, and a web series, As I’m Suffering From Kaadhal. It was a conscious move to choose roles with care, says the actor. “I did not want to end up taking on too much without focusing on quality. I wanted to experiment with genres before starting work in the commercial format. I’ve been getting off-beat roles, so my plan has worked.”
Sanath, who had acted in Madhu (a part of the anthology ‘Bench Talkies’, later made into the movie Meyaadha Maan), recalls interacting with director Karthik Subbaraj even when he was making short films. “Then, I did not know he would go on to make Pizza, Jigarthanda and Iraivi. When the offer came, I knew it was a substantial part. I’ve always wanted to work with Karthik — he pushes actors into a different zone — and this was a great opportunity,” says Sananth, who had also dabbled in theatre for about two years in Chennai.
Did the physicality of theatre help him prep better for this film? “Partly, yes. But, I did not want to showcase that kind of physicality for this movie. While it was about expressions and body language, I mixed up a little of stage lessons and realistic acting; I did not want to be seen as overacting.”
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Sananth, who got into the industry wanting to be a director, now says acting dreams have taken over. “The directors I’ve worked with have pushed me beyond my limit. And, that matters to me as a performer. It’s nice to constantly challenge oneself. Mercury was a treat as it had no dialogues. On reading the script, I knew that this film would be a huge break for me.”
His family, which was initially worried when he dropped out of Engineering and joined Visual Communication, now knows that Sananth’s gamble did pay off. “They are very pleased seeing the reaction to my films. I think they will be very happy with Mercury.” I have two announcements coming soon, he says as we wrap up the interview.
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The Sanath Reddy interview is a Silverscreen exclusive.