Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor are set to make their Telugu film debut with Jr NTR’s highly-anticipated film Devara. Recently, the cast sat down to discuss their experience working on the project with Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga. During the conversation, Saif and Janhvi opened up about the challenges they faced while shooting in a language unfamiliar to them, and how director Koratala Siva played a crucial role in guiding and encouraging them throughout the process.
During the interaction, Jr NTR lauded Janhvi for her impressive ability to quickly pick up Telugu. He said, “She is phenomenal with her memory. I was shocked. I thought this girl has come from Mumbai, what would she know?” Saif Ali Khan chimed in, mentioning Janhvi’s South Indian roots, referring to her late mother, veteran actor Sridevi, whose mother tongue was Telugu. “She has South Indian roots,” he said. Jr NTR agreed but added, “But still, sir, speaking in Telugu… she was just brilliant. She went all out. Siva was watching her performance, and I was raising my hand in appreciation. She was fabulous.”
Saif shared his experience shooting for a Telugu film for the first time. He recalled how director Siva reassured him about the language barrier, saying, “Siva sir told me don’t worry. He told me I could speak Hindi, English whatever. He also said that it’s easy just to come. Firstly, when I was approached for the film… it’s a great honour. I love Hyderabad cinema but I was worried about the language.”
Jr NTR also shared how he had been captivated by Saif’s portrayal of a character in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara and believed he would be the perfect fit for the intense role of Bhairava in Devara. He said, “Saif has a lot of intensity as an actor, but not many films have explored that.”
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Recalling his first day on set, Saif admitted to feeling nervous about delivering his lines in Telugu. “On the first day, I had to say these lines and I was given cues. Sweat started dripping down my t-shirt, and I felt a thrill I hadn’t felt in a long time. Even though it’s a film made in our own country, since it was a different language, it was a new experience for me. I was panicking because I thought I might not do it properly.”
However, after a few days, Saif adapted to the language, and the director began to trust him more. Saif shared that Siva, who initially promised him minimal dialogue, gradually gave him longer lines as his confidence grew. “After some time, the dialogues started getting bigger. I would get two pages of dialogues, and I thought, ‘How will I manage this?’ But Siva said, ‘Now you can do it.'”
Saif also thanked Jr NTR for being a supportive co-star during the filming process. “I have to thank Jr NTR, who was incredibly focused and helpful during the scenes. It could have been distracting for another actor, but he concentrated and helped, and together we made it work.”
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