Theatre made everything easy, says Faria Abdullah
Naveen Polishetty, Priyadarshi, Rahul Ramakrishna play ‘Jathi Rathnalu’ — three aimless youth who mock at people and their lives, and the society at large — in the upcoming movie. And Chitti, played by Faria Abdullah, joins the party when she meets the gang.
An innocent, yet smart, Chitti knows how to get her game around. “The definition of Jathi Rathnalu is not so serious as you think. It’s a mockery of the wor(l)d. The characters are so dumb that one can’t imagine how lives of people can be so dull and tedious. We don’t think for ourselves, we don’t really talk for ourselves. We keep our opinions to ourselves. Jathi Rathnalu is something that outdoes the routine.”
Alumna of Loyola College in the city, Faria had a good theatre background for eight years and enough time to venture into modelling, art, music, painting and dancing. “Then I had collaborated with a few theatre groups like Samahaara Weekend Theatre Workshop, Kissago Theatre and Film Productions, Nishumbita Ballet And Theatre Group — and performed in around 50 stage shows. I did my first Telugu web series titled Nakshatra, a crime thriller, on YouTube. This was when I gradually learnt how the silver screen and glamour industry work,” she says.
Faria says coming from theatre, she adopted a kind of methodology that is suitable for films. “Understanding the character is vital. You can’t make yourself bigger than the story; you have to make sure that you are a part of the story and everything comes together. Everything has become easy for me thanks to the theatre experience. Cinema is easier than theatre.”
Elaborating further, she adds, “In theatre, we need a longer time to rehearse. Actors too should rehearse for their upcoming movies before the shoot starts but we haven’t done many rehearsals. But I got to know the background of my character and the movie well in advance, and that helped.”
Faria enjoyed having long conversations with co-actors Naveen Polishetty, Rahul Ramakrishna, Priyadarshi and Nag Ashwin, who is producing the movie. “Rahul has vast experience as an actor, journalist, literature lover and a poet. The connection was instant as I was from theatre and literature background. Naveen was too funny to have around on the sets. He feels it’s his birthright to make others laugh.”
Although Faria is from the city, she is not so fluent in Telugu. “I was nervous initially to speak in Telugu, and I felt it was tougher to deliver my dialogues. Naveen is a supportive co-actor, he constantly kept asking me how would I do a particular scene. The timing, emotions and the dialogues. So later, I dubbed my own voice in Telugu.”
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