Navdeep states why he’s backing the indie film Sagileti Katha, compares it to Balagam, Care of Kancharapalem

Navdeep, who played a journalist to perfection in aha’s successful show Newsense recently, is now presenting a small-budget film titled Sagileti Katha. Rajasekhar Sudmoon has written and directed the rural drama starring newcomers Ravi Mahadasyam, Vishikalakshman and Narasimha Prasad Panthagani. At the trailer launch of the film yesterday, the actor stated the reason behind his association with a project sans any recognisable faces.

“Casting director Pushpa Bhaskar wanted to be a part of Sagileti Katha’s promotional event initially, it’s only because of her that I’m backing it today. After the event was over, I got to watch the film as well. The director told me he was a self-taught technician, an avid movie buff and that he’d learnt filmmaking by watching films on Youtube,” he said.

When Rajasekhar explained the effort that went into its making and his understand of various crafts, Navdeep was genuinely astounded and felt he had a brilliant product. “He’s an extraordinary talent. Keeping aside the fact that he understood the technicalities of the process, he extracted superb performances from each of his actors, who’re raw and new to the industry.”

The actor stated comedy is the most difficult aspect of acting. “Either the actor has to draw from his experiences or the director needs to have supreme clarity over his product. The director elicited the comic timing of relatively unknown actors and it thoroughly impressed me and I came on board soon. I hope the film gets its due,” he remained hopeful.

Sagileti Katha is a beautiful film; you’ll experience a wide range of emotions through chicken, Navdeep added. “Raw, rustic films like Balagam, Care of Kancharapalem worked for us because we watched it without any filters and got drawn into its world. The satisfaction I get when a viewer who watches such a film without expectations is immense. I’m very confident about Sagileti Katha.”

With his strengths and reach, Navdeep felt I could spread the word about it through his firm C Space. “C Space has worked on many projects, OTT and feature films, since lockdown, helping with scripts, post-production and other aspects of filmmaking. Given we’re a startup ourselves, I decided to associate with a finished product Madha and now this. We’re also working on Love Mouli and Chandini Chowdary’s Evam.”