Hanu Raghavapudi: We can’t imagine anyone else other than Dulquer as Lieutenant Ram | Exclusive

For those who love watching Dulquer Salmaan as a romantic hero, the BTS footage released by the makers of the Hanu Raghavapudi directorial should come as a welcome surprise as it shows the star in his element. The team of the period romantic drama, which is set in 1964, had completed a lengthy shoot in Kashmir a few months ago and is currently gearing up for its next schedule. 

Hanu, who had previously helmed the Telugu movie Padi Padi Leche Manasu, tells OTTplay that working with Dulquer in the film has changed his perspective. “It was a fabulous experience, almost a game-changer in terms of my thought process,” says the filmmaker, adding that the actor brought in his own ideas to play the character of Lieutenant Ram in the movie. 

While the director is tight-lipped about the character or the story, he does tell us, “Dulquer just lived in the role of Lieutenant Ram. I don’t think there’s another actor we can imagine playing that role now. I am sure when the audience watches the film in theatres, they would feel the same way we did while shooting the film.”

Cinematographer PS Vinod’s visuals of the film suggest a fresh approach to a love saga, setting it against the backdrop of a war in Kashmir. “You will see a different Kashmir. The film is more about the romanticising of Kashmir,” he says, about the film’s major location where they had shot till April end. 

The cast and crew had resumed shooting the movie this month in Hyderabad. “We have finished almost 40-50% of the movie. We shot till July 23 and will begin our next schedule from August 3,” says Hanu. 

The untitled film, which will be released in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, marks Dulquer’s second Telugu production after Mahanati in which he played Gemini Ganesan.