Supriya Yarlagadda on ‘Dacoit’: When a film has a well-written female lead, I know it has the chops

Producer Supriya Yarlagadda on ‘Dacoit’, putting Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur on equal footing, and a three-decade journey in Telugu cinema

Producer Supriya Yarlagadda takes in the arrangements on a specially erected set in Hyderabad for her film Dacoit, chats briefly with the crew, and settles in for the interview, a touch hesitant. Usually reticent, she admits she needed a nudge from her team to step into the spotlight.

This marks her 30th year in cinema. She began acting at 17 and produced her first film at 19. The Telugu film industry knows her as a producer and CEO, and as executive director of Annapurna Studios. Yet, a film release still brings nerves. “We are all gamblers,” she says. “We gamble with money, hoping the audience will like our work. We operate somewhere between hope and fear.”

Dacoit, a Telugu-Hindi bilingual film co-written by lead actor Adivi Sesh and director Shaneil Deo, also stars Mrunal Thakur and Anurag Kashyap. Supriya describes it as a “two-hero film,” with Mrunal and Adivi on equal footing in a story that blends love, heist, and action. “It’s a dangerous love story,” she adds. “If a film has a well-written female lead, I know it has the chops.” In Dacoit, Mrunal’s name precedes Adivi’s in the title credits.

Supriya Yarlagadda | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

As the script evolved, Supriya became a sounding board for Sesh and Shaneil, particularly on the female lead’s arc. “Many male writers understand women beautifully, but some haven’t written female characters in depth. It helps to weigh in early in the scripting stage,” she says. “For instance, why assume a woman will respond positively when a man says he loves her? Or that every woman wants to be a mother? I respond to what feels true to the character’s journey.”

She recently played a similar role for director Abhilash Reddy’s motocross film, Biker, offering feedback during the scripting stage.