Exclusive! After Malayalam debut, Dheekshith Shetty begins work on 3 new Telugu films
Dheekshith Shetty has 4 upcoming Telugu projects and is looking at a very busy May
Apr 25, 2024
Dheekshith Shetty
Dheekshith Shetty is just back from a 32-day schedule in Kerala for his debut Malayalam movie Oppees. “It is almost done; I have 5 days of shoot left, which will be a schedule set in Scotland. The Kerala portions are done and dusted. We shot in Thodupuzha, Kochi and Wagamon, with the only hassle being the unbearable heat. Otherwise, it was a new experience, working in a language that is completely alien to me,” he says and elaborates. “The work timings are from 6 am to 9.30 pm, as they prefer to finish major portions in one schedule. As far as the script goes, since I am from Mangaluru, I could relate to some of the elements that are being portrayed in the film, like, for instance, Naga aradhane, Theyyam (Bhootha Kola), etc. The rituals are almost the same, with only minor variations.”
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A DJ with an eye for parapsychology in Oppees
Malayalam, adds Dheekshith, was the biggest challenge, and while he isn’t dubbing for his role, he has tried doing justice to the lip sync. “The director and his team helped me immensely and would tell me the exact pronunciation of each word in my lines. I’d record that and listen to it on loop. If I had the time, I would have loved to learn the language better and dub for the role. But the team is in a hurry to release the film by August, and my schedule is packed in the coming months that I don’t have the luxury to devote time for it,” says the actor.
In Oppees, Dheekshith plays Sunny, a DJ based in Scotland, who’d settled there after a certain incident in his life back in Kerala. “When he hears about parapsychology and begins to research it, he returns to Kerala to study it further, that’s what the film is about. While Sunny is the lead of the story, Shine Tom Chacko as my friend in the film and is as good as the parallel lead. Once Sunny returns from Scotland, he is always with Shine,” Dheekshith elaborates.
Dheekshith's upcoming slate of Telugu films
In Bengaluru to exercise his franchise, Dheekshith will now leave to Hyderabad to begin three Telugu projects. “There is Prem Chand Kilaru’s debut directorial an as-yet-untitled big-budget adventure saga, as well as the next from the makers of Dasara, KJQ. Then I have a film that is going on floors as Production No. 1. Amid all this, I have 10 days of shoot left for Girlfriend also. Prem’s film is big and requires me to sport different looks as well. The making will be very different. When I heard the script, I had a certain imagination of how it would be, but then Prem gave me an AI-generated pitch-deck, which was quite mind-blowing. He also showed me some 15-20 minutes of raw footage of a sequence that I am not involved and the visuals, I swear, are next level. I am very excited about this film,” says Dheekshith.
The actor is also looking forward to KJQ – King Jackie Queen – in which he is King, Yukti Thareja is Queen and Shashi Odela is Jackie. “The film is told from 3 perspectives and the team has shot all portions except for mine. All that is left is my angle of the story and the combination shots with all three together,” says Dheekshith, adding that Girlfriend, which will probably be his next in Telugu cinema, is a film that will be a game-changer for leading lady Rashmika Mandanna and propel her even further ahead on the stardom chart. “This is a film that will resonate with women as it explores the whole ‘men can’t take no for an answer’ scenario. The film is full of life and will show Rashmika in a never-before-seen light,” he adds.
As for his next in Kannada, Bank of Bhagyalakshmi, the Blink actor, tells us that he’s only got about 5 days’ worth of shoot pending. “We worked on the film at break-neck speed as the team was in a hurry to wrap it up. And then, the producer announced a break due to the elections and said that work will resume only in June. That is a tad frustrating that after working so hard, when we are almost at the finish line, there is no haste to get it done. In fact, we could have worked at a more relaxed pace if we had known there would be such a delay,” Dheekshith says.
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