Satyadev: My film has nothing to do with Nathuram Godse

Actor Satyadev Kancharana holds forth on his new Telugu film, ‘Godse’, in which he plays a vigilante

Director Gopiganesh Pattabhi and actor Satyadev Kancharana’s second Telugu film collaboration, Godse, plans to shine the spotlight on several niggling issues. The film, scheduled to release in theatres on June 17, will star Satyadev as a vigilante named Godse, raising questions such as why graduates are unable to find employment befitting their qualification and are forced into the gig economy, as food delivery agents. “Gopi anna did a survey and found that 95% (of the respondents) were working in fields that had nothing to do with their qualification. His writing is a reaction to such social issues,” Satyadev explains when he begins this interview.

The actor cites the example of some of his peers who specialised in mechanical or electrical engineering but took up jobs in the information technology sector: “I belong to the 5% that had the opportunity to follow my heart. Not everyone is lucky.” For the uninitiated, Satyadev worked as a software engineer and pursued acting alongside his job. When he was sure he could sustain a film career, he quit his IT job.

The film’s title, Satyadev explains, has nothing to do with Nathuram Godse: “My character is an admirer of Gandhi; there is a backstory of what made him a vigilante. I cannot give away much, but I can assert that our film’s title does not refer to Nathuram Godse.”

He and the director discussed the ideas that sparked the film sometime in 2021: “At 22 or 25, you complete your education assuming you would spend at least the next 25 years working in a related field, only to realise there are not enough jobs. A lot of politicking happens at the government and corporate level that determines what industries are established in a State. Such facts became the starting points for this film’s script.”

Godse introduces Tamil actor Aishwarya Lekshmi as an officer investigating the case of the vigilante. Satyadev describes the film as “a political action thriller” that can make people think. “The questions he poses will linger in people’s minds. I think when you raise questions through a well-written script, it will reach the audience.”

After winning appreciation for his work in Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya (UMUR) and Skylab, Satyadev is looking forward to the reception for Godse. He mentions a three-minute-20-second scene in the climax that he rendered in one take: “Since they had to show reactions from the other characters, editing was done to incorporate those. I was pleased that I delivered a lengthy dialogue in a single take. It has come out well and I am eager to see how people react to it.”

The 2018 film Bluffmaster, Satyadev’s first with Gopiganesh, fared decently in theatres and gained immense popularity when it was streamed digitally. “Even today I get so many comments about the film; it became a cult. The number of people who began following my work grew three to four times after that film.”