From Instagram Reels to ‘Sing Geetham’: Ahilya on her unconventional journey to films

Growing up successful Auroville, Ahilya says her satellite revolved astir a assemblage of astir 3,000 people. When Instagram introduced Reels, she began posting abbreviated videos offering glimpses into her regular beingness and the township.

“I did it for fun. The contented became fashionable and I enjoyed interacting with people. I ne'er imagined it would pb to movie offers,” she says with a laugh, successful betwixt promoting her caller movie successful Hyderabad.

The audition telephone for her debut film, Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk, arrived via an Instagram nonstop message. A akin connection aboriginal invited her to audition for manager Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Sing Geetham, the Telugu phantasy philharmonic play releasing connected June 12.

Ahilya, who prefers to spell by her archetypal name, was calved successful Mumbai. “My begetter is Kashmiri and my parent is portion Bengali, portion Maharashtrian,” she says. Having lived successful Auroville since the property of three, she is fluent successful French and tin recognize Tamil.

Telugu, however, was unfamiliar territory. When she met filmmaker Nag Ashwin and the squad astatine Vyjayanthi Films aft clearing the auditions, she was drawn to the thought of a philharmonic phantasy drama. “I was adjacent much thrilled to enactment with a fable similar Singeetham Srinivasa Rao garu, who has returned to absorption successful his 90s.”

Set successful a fictional cursed village, Sing Geetham imagines a satellite wherever radical pass done songs alternatively than conversations. “It’s an ensemble movie and each of america learnt and sang our lines,” says Ahilya.

Co-directed by Sankalp Gora and written by Gautami Challagulla, Shashank Chintalpudi and Nanda Kishore Emani, the movie stars Ayaan, Ahilya and Shalini Kondepudi, with euphony by Devi Sri Prasad.

Ahilya recalls the extended workshops that preceded filming. “We were learning our lines, emoting and singing. Singeetham sir would perpetually usher america and assistance amended our performances. I play a fiery young pistillate whose bosom is successful the close place. Our biggest situation was that we had nary existent notation constituent for a conversational philharmonic successful Indian cinema.”

Though the actors worked extensively with the publication during rehearsals, immoderate changes became indispensable connected set. “We realised that what worked successful rehearsals did not ever enactment during filming, truthful a fewer adjustments were made.”

If her show arsenic Abhishek Bachchan’s girl successful I Want To Talk felt natural, Ahilya attributes that easiness to her aboriginal vulnerability to performing arts. “I americium not formally trained successful theatre oregon music, but I loved participating successful schoolhouse plays and being portion of a euphony band.”

The modulation from Auroville to the sets of a Shoojit Sircar film, she says, was little daunting than 1 mightiness expect. “The ambiance was lukewarm and intimate, and the accumulation didn’t consciousness similar a monolithic mainstream set. I ne'er felt intimidated. Working with Shoojit sir and aboriginal with Nag Ashwin and his squad felt similar validation. It made maine realise that possibly my endowment could beryllium recognised beyond my tiny satellite successful Auroville.”

Throughout the conversation, Ahilya returns to however fortunate she feels to beryllium portion of unconventional projects.

“Singeetham sir and Nag Ashwin person created unthinkable films, and I’m alert of Nag sir’s quality to spot talent,” she says, referring to however helium introduced Mrunal Thakur to Telugu cinema with Sita Ramam and formed Keerthy Suresh successful Mahanati. “When I look backmost astatine Sing Geetham, my biggest takeaway is to enactment funny and beryllium brave capable to deliberation extracurricular the box.”