Venkatesh Daggubati on ‘Saindhav’: I surprised myself with my agility in the action sequences

Venkatesh Daggubati opens up on his 75th film ‘Saindhav’, directed by Sailesh Kolanu, and co-starring Shraddha Srinath and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Plans are on for season two of ‘Rana Naidu’. Venkatesh also talks about the resurgence of Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Shah Rukh Khan through action entertainers, in collaboration with younger directors

Saindhav, the Telugu action entertainer releasing on January 13, is actor Venkatesh Daggubati’s 75th film. While promoting the film, director Sailesh Kolanu had stated that when he watched films such as The Equalizer and Taken, he had wondered about the possibility of senior Telugu actors collaborating with young directors for action films in a slightly realistic zone and that Saindhav is one such attempt. 

During this interview with The Hindu, Venkatesh affirms that he, too, had been on the lookout for such films. “Over the years when I watched Bruce Willis films or films such as The Equaliser and Taken, I wanted to move gracefully into that zone and be a part of films driven by story and screenplay with scope for breezy action. In this phase of my career, having been part of cinema for 37 years, I am happy Saindhav came my way. I have never planned and my approach has been to take things as they come.”

In the film, Venkatesh plays Saindhav Kolanu or SaiKo who dotes on his wife (Shraddha Srinath) and daughter (Ssara Palekar) and locks horns with Nawazuddin Siddiqui to save his daughter from a health crisis. Venkatesh was aware of Sailesh’s earlier films, HIT and HIT 2, and knew that he had the potential to narrate a good story on a large canvas. When producer Venkat Boyanapalli approached him and said that Sailesh had an interesting story, Saindhav began to take shape. 

Venkatesh recalls how he instantly hit it off with Sailesh, “He is much younger to me but we hit it off like college friends. The boy has so much energy and he is enthusiastic. He wanted to present me in a new-age action drama that is sleek. Nothing goes overboard; we don’t have a conventional introduction action sequence, cars being blasted or 100 people being flung into the air. Nothing is wrong with that approach and the audience still enjoys it if presented well, but I am happy to move into a realistic zone.” Developing the character of SaiKo, says Venkatesh, was like a jamming session between him and Sailesh. 

The last time Venkatesh did some serious action was in Narappa. Looking back, he says he was glad to work on the hard-hitting adaptation of Asuran and it was unfortunate that it had to be released directly on a digital platform owing to the pandemic. Stepping up the action quotient in Saindhav was a test for the 63-year-old actor. “I surprised myself and everyone on the sets by pulling it off,” he says with a hearty laugh. “I was energetic and agile. I would rate the climax portion in Saindhav among the best in my career. It is high on emotions and we filmed for 15 nights. It was challenging as an actor. This may not be the biggest film, but in terms of what was required, I think we cracked it. Everyone in the team, including cinematographer Manikandan and music composer Santhosh Narayanan, were driven to contribute to the film.”

Talking about his approach towards health and fitness, the actor says the key is to be consistent with workouts and focus on strengthening legs and the back. “These two areas weaken with age, so you cannot neglect them.”

Venkatesh states that he was fortunate to be a part of films in varied genres at different stages of his career. “I did not plan Nuvvu Naaku Nachav, Drushyam or for that matter many noteworthy films. I wanted to do good work and was aware that cinema is also a business. There have been bad films as well. But, somehow, I have managed to get going and people have loved me.”