Meet the gang of ‘Keedaa Cola’

Chaitanya Rao Madadi, Rag Mayur, Vishnu Oi, Jeevan Kumar and Ravindra Vijay hold forth on the world of ‘Keedaa Cola’, director Tharun Bhascker’s Telugu comic caper

A bunch of oddball characters caught in unlikely situations and a promise of rollercoaster ride. The promos of Keedaa Cola, the Telugu caper comedy directed by Tharun Bhascker, which releases on November 3, have raised anticipation for a laugh riot. The film has an ensemble cast — Brahmanandam as thatha (grandfather), Tharun as local don, Naidu, Rag Mayur as the lawyer Lancham, Raghu Ram as Shots, Chaitanya Rao Madadi as Brahmanandam’s grandson, Vaasthu, Jeevan Kumar as Jeevan who nurtures political dreams, Vishnu Oi as Jeevan’s sidekick Sikandar and Ravindra Vijay as the ruthless CEO. Add to this is a character that drives the plot forward without speaking —  the doll, Barbee. 

Some of the actors discuss their Keedaa Cola experience. 

Keedaa Cola is Chaitanya’s biggest acid test, yet. The actor who gained popularity with the mini series 30 Weds 21 and the period comedy film Annapurna Photo Studio, plays a character with Tourette syndrome. His world revolves around his grandfather and his friend, Lancham.

“I took two to three days to research and prepare for the audition,” Chaitanya recalls. The brief was not to make the stutter seem like an exaggeration or a mockery. He looked up videos of people who have this condition, watched Hollywood films and discussed with Tharun to determine how much stutter is too much. “I learnt that Billie Eilish has this condition. In the film, Vaasthu does not speak much and we understand that he has been bullied in childhood.”

Working closely with Brahmanandam, he noticed how the veteran actor came up with varied expressions and dialogue delivery. “Tharun said he wanted subtle comedy and Brahmanandam sir gave a few variations. It was a learning experience to notice how swiftly he adapted to the requirement.”

Chaitanya has a bunch of other films coming up in diverse genres and hopes Keedaa Cola will make him a household name. Acting had been his childhood dream but he pursued an MBA programme and worked in Australia for a few months to put aside money before taking the leap of faith. 

The pandemic was a rough phase, “OTTs were open to newer actors provided they had a YouTube or social media following. I did not score on that front and thought that was the end of the road. Then, 30 Weds 21 happened and things began to work in my favour.”