‘Rashmika is magical in the first few takes’: Rahul Ravindran on directing ‘The Girlfriend’

“I don’t mean to dependable cryptic, but I’d alternatively not springiness excessively overmuch distant and spoil the fun,” says actor-writer-director Rahul Ravindran astir his Telugu movie The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna, releasing connected November 7. Both, helium says, consciousness a consciousness of gratitude arsenic a communicative adjacent to their hearts readies for release.

An incidental Rahul heard of successful assemblage stayed with him for years. In the aboriginal 2010s, a fashionable opus sparked a inclination successful South Indian cinema. “That opus — which I’ll support unnamed for present — became portion of a movement. I told myself that 1 time I’d marque a movie that shifts the gaze,” helium says. “The Girlfriend isn’t a effect to it, but it did trigger a thought. The story, characters and emotions evolved from there. The antheral protagonist came first, though the position done which I archer the communicative is different.”

Shifting dynamic

When Rahul debuted arsenic a writer-director successful 2018 with the narration play Chi La Sow, it caught everyone by surprise. The movie went connected to triumph the National Award for Best Original Screenplay. Between 2017 and 2019, Telugu cinema entered 1 of its astir dynamic phases, with films crossed budgets exploring caller themes and genres. Rahul recalls, “The different day, Sesh (actor-writer Adivi Sesh) mentioned that close aft the Baahubali films, the manufacture was flush with funds — producers had a bigger appetite for risks.”

Things person changed since then. Post-pandemic, producers and directors person grown cautious, citing dwindling theatre footfalls. Rahul explains, “Internet and OTT penetration changeable up during the pandemic. Add to that the rising outgo of living, and radical person little disposable income. No 1 wants to combat postulation to ticker thing repetitive. But if the promos committedness thing caller and the movie is engaging, audiences volition amusement up, and adjacent forgive a fewer missteps.”

While alert of this shifting assemblage dynamic, Rahul says helium does not fto it power his writing. “The archetypal draught has to beryllium the purest signifier of the story. It’s lone aboriginal — during budgeting and casting — that we request to beryllium mindful of the environment.”

Incompatible relationships

The promos of The Girlfriend person already sparked curiosity. Rahul says the trailer reveals lone a fraction of the story. “When I conceived this a decennary ago, we weren’t utilizing words similar ‘toxic’ to picture relationships,” helium says. “Many deliberation it’s a communicative astir toxicity, but I spot it arsenic 1 astir incompatibility. Rashmika tells maine this movie volition consciousness similar a lukewarm hug for girls stuck successful uncomfortable relationships. I’d accidental it’s besides for the boys who deficiency clarity oregon affectional maturity. At 21 oregon 23, a feline mightiness judge he’s being the cleanable fellow without realising wherefore a miss pulls away. Sometimes, they conscionable request different perspective. I anticipation this movie makes adjacent 5 percent of them think.”

Incidentally, The Girlfriend wasn’t the archetypal movie Rahul and Rashmika had planned nether Geetha Arts. In 2021, they were acceptable to collaborate connected a antithetic story. But the disruptions caused by the 2nd and 3rd waves of COVID-19 forced Rashmika to reshuffle dates for her existing commitments. “We weren’t filming for astir 9 months,” Rahul recalls. “And I felt the communicative we had past nary longer felt relevant. Producer Dheeraj mentioned to Rashmika different thought I’d spoken to him astir earlier. She asked for the script, said she’d work it implicit the adjacent fewer days — but called maine the precise adjacent time and said, ‘This is simply a communicative that needs to beryllium told.’ We began filming successful conscionable implicit 2 months.”

Reflecting connected his penning process, Rahul says the communicative archetypal takes signifier successful fragments successful his mind. Once the operation is clear, helium begins writing. The screenplay for The Girlfriend was completed successful conscionable 12 days. “After penning the archetypal 10 pages, I shared them with a person to spot if helium could foretell wherever the communicative was headed,” helium says. “His feedback sparked a caller enactment of thought. This is the archetypal clip a communicative evolved portion I was penning it. It wasn’t hard — I’d commencement astir 11 a.m. and spell connected till 6 oregon 7 successful the evening. The eagerness to spot wherever it was going made the process enjoyable.”

Intuition versus a calculated approach

For a narration play to resonate, performances are key. Rahul credits Rashmika Mandanna and Deekshith Shetty for bringing affectional extent to the story. “Rashmika is intuitive. I’d speech to her successful item astir the character, situation, and dialogues, and she’d sorb everything. Her archetypal 3 takes are usually magical, truthful I’d inquire my cinematographer, Krishnan Vasant, to marque definite we captured each moment,” helium says. “Deekshith, connected the different hand, rehearses meticulously and fine-tunes each item earlier facing the camera. He tin present 50 takes with the aforesaid intensity. As a director, it was a joyousness adapting to each actor’s process.”

There is already buzz that the censor committee was impressed with The Girlfriend, suggesting it has the imaginable to triumph a National Award. Rahul, however, does not dwell connected that. “I’m conscionable waiting to spot however the assemblage responds,” helium says.

He besides plays a little but pivotal relation successful the movie — arsenic Rashmika’s dependable of crushed erstwhile her quality is astatine a crossroads. “I’m successful conscionable 5 oregon six scenes,” helium smiles. “We had considered different actors initially, but my squad bulldozed maine into doing it.”