Actor Rahul Ravindran is one actor who has been making his moves quite steadily. With each passing day, he has grown to strength and has now taken the big leap of becoming a director. We caught up with Rahul for an exclusive interview and spoke at length about his career and a new challenge in his life.

Tell us about your two new films?

Both my films, Howrah Bridge and Drishti have wrapped up their shoot and are busy with their post-production activities. The interesting aspect is that both the films are completely different from each other. While one is a love story, the other is a thriller which I am very excited about.

When did your love for cinema begin?

It all happened the day I watched Kamal Haasan’s Nayagan. I watched the film way after its release and the movie stuck in my mind completely. It was drastically different from the regular movies that were being made and yet entertained me completely. Since then, my love for cinema grew and I decided right away that I should be doing films.

How did it all start?

The moment I decided that I should be in films, my parents were not okay with the idea and wanted me to first pursue my education. I gave myself time and completed my MBA. I even worked in Mumbai for a year. The day I saved enough to survive for a year, I head back to Hyderabad and joined a direction department team. But to my luck, things changed overnight and I was offered a film and the rest is history now.

Now that your acting career is going fine, what made you turn director?

I thought hard about this big leap and felt is it a right time to direct when my career is going quite smoothly. But then, things always happen for a reason and I am giving my dream a try and why not do it when I am young, capable and hard working.

Why did you choose Sushanth?

Sushanth had done purely commercial films to date. In one of the parties, we started discussing the same and he told me that he would like to do a film which is subtle and light-hearted. The moment he said that I narrated him my idea and the rest fell in to place automatically. We also found a producer who could back us and here we are.

Don’t you think you are risking your career by directing a film?

See, I am not here to make any statement that I will make a great film. I am doing my own thing and my film will be simple and healthy rom-com. There will be no unnecessary expectations and I will make the film with all my heart. As far as my career is concerned, my filmmaking has nothing to do with my acting as it is in its own places quite safely.

What kind of support did you get from your wife Chinmayi?

Oh! She has been my constant pillar of support who has always pushed me to give my best. She was the first person whom I told that I want to direct a film. Her company and constant encouragement have always got me going.

When will the film release?

I am planning to wrap up the shoot by this year end and depending on this, we will take a call about the release dates.

About your choice of films as an actor?

A lot of romantic films are being offered to me of late. I want to challenge myself and showcase the actor in me by doing different and hard-hitting films. Dristhi will be my first step towards it and I hope people support me whatever I take up.

With that, we wrapped up our exclusive interview with Rahul Ravindran and wished him the best of luck for his films and directorial debut.

Interviewed by Avad