Kiran Abbavaram on ‘KA’: Sujith and Sandeep’s story surprised me at every turn

Actor Kiran Abbavaram discusses his upcoming Telugu thriller KA, set in the 1970s, with a focus on unpredictability and immersive storytelling.

It has been a year since actor Kiran Abbavaram has had a film release. KA, the Telugu thriller releasing on October 31 in Telugu and a week later in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, has demanded all his attention. “We have attempted something new. I was very taken in by an important point that directors Sujith and Sandeep intended to convey through their story, written in a thriller format,” he says, speaking for this interview in between promotional activities in Hyderabad. Kiran exudes confidence but admits to a tinge of nervousness as the release day draws closer.

In KA, set in the 1970s in a fictional village named Krishnagiri, Kiran plays Vasudev, a postman, but there is more to his seemingly-innocent character. He says, “So far I have never portrayed a part with shades of grey. This has been a new learning.” 

KA was filmed in the vicinity of forest areas; the crew scouted for locations that would be apt for a fictional village surrounded by hills, where light fades by 3pm. “Around 60% of the film takes place in darkness. We had heard of a village in Telangana where it gets dark around 4.30pm. For this film we wanted an earlier time,” he says, adding that the dialect in KA is not specific to any region in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh.

Kiran brightens up while discussing the filming process in the forest zones. The crew would walk for nearly a kilometre, carrying cameras, lights and other equipment, to reach the shooting spots in the jungles near Thirthahalli and Agumbe in Karnataka. “This region is home to several snakes, so we had medical kits handy. Once we got used to the location, we had a good time; it was beautiful to be one with Nature.”

Some portions were filmed in Muchintal and Vikarabad in Telangana; eight sets were constructed at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, pertaining to the village areas, and one set with a few interior portions was constructed at Sarathi Studios, Ameerpet.

Kiran hails from a village in Rayachoti in Andhra Pradesh and recalls how he had no exposure to urban lifestyle until he completed Class X. “That childhood experience helped me get in sync with this film easily. It was like going back in time.” 

The USP of KA, Kiran explains, is its unpredictability. “I listen to a number of narrations and read scripts, so when Sujith and Sandeep began narrating this story, I thought I had figured it out in the first few minutes. The story took me by surprise at each turn and I was shocked after listening to the climax. I hope the audiences find it equally interesting. The period setting will give people something new and immersive.”