Rahul Ravindran is not a new face to the south Indian audience who have known him since 2010’s Moscowin Kavery in Tamil and 2012’s Andala Rakshasi in Telugu. A decade after beginning his career, the actor-director tested the waters in Hindi cinema by playing ex-cop Muthu in Vasan Bala’s Jigra. “It has been such a productive year,” he tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview that delves into his Hindi debut, third film as a director, and more.

But first, there’s one role he takes seriously – that of a father. He and his wife, singer Chinmayi Sripaada, had twins, Driptah and Sharvas, in 2022. “The babies are growing up, running around, beginning to talk…” he lists out, adding, “No book you read on parenting can prepare you for how overwhelming it is in all the right ways. It has been life-changing.”

‘Samantha was with me when I got finalised for Jigra’

Speaking of his babies, I point out they have a cool aunt in his close friend and first co-star, Samantha Ruth Prabhu. He laughs. “It’s funny you brought her up because Samantha was with me when I got the call that I was finalised for Jigra. I asked her if I should do it, and she said, are you mad, of course you should. Sam has always been a huge admirer of Alia (Bhatt).”

But much before that, Rahul wanted to audition for the film because Vasan Bala would be directing it, and he knew ‘the man writes interesting characters’. “I was going to be paid to be on set with him, and I wanted to do it just for that. Only later did I learn it would be produced by Karan Johar and headlined by Alia. I had the best seat in the house to see such talent on display. It’s a film I’ll always be proud of,” he says.

Rahul admits that he has sometimes been on toxic sets in his long career, making it a chore to go to work. “But this set was nothing like that, we all had such a good time because there was such clarity in the material,” he explains. Jigra revolves around Rahul’s Muthu, Alia’s Satya, and Manoj Pahwa’s Bhatia, who want to break their loved ones out of prison. “The dynamic between us was written so clearly – Alia is the trio's soul, Manoj is the heart, and I am the conscience.”

‘Jigra will stand the test of time, people will remember it fondly’

In its less than a month run, Jigra made ₹56.93 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk.com, despite the positive reviews. “I would’ve loved for the film to do ₹200 crore, and it’s disappointing when that doesn’t happen,” admits Rahul, adding, “But my priority was never the outcome. I got everything I wanted from the film by the time I finished shooting. Jigra also earned such respect for everyone involved, I’m sure it’ll stand the test of time.”

Rahul says that no matter what, Jigra is the kind of film that ‘people will remember fondly’. “The film worked for a set of audience that I know will fight for it. I told Vasan that many directors spend their careers without knowing what that’s like. He’s the kind to learn all the right things from this,” he says, adding, “Knowing its outcome, I know everyone involved would still do the film. And if a film made with the right intentions doesn’t work at the box office, it might as well be as interesting as Jigra.”

‘Was often typecast as a lover boy’

It’s only now that Rahul is getting to explore characters like Muthu - a man struggling with guilt - that push him as an actor, he says. “I enjoy acting, but I made a call not to do lead roles anymore. I am an accidental actor, and rather than investing numerous months in a film, I could write and direct during that time. The only thing that’ll get me to do a lead role again is art, for art's sake. I was often typecast as a lover boy, and that wasn’t satisfactory. I was just sick of love stories,” he adds.

Rahul has recently branched out, playing varied characters in films like Shyam Singha Roy, Sita Ramam, Guntur Kaaram in Telugu and the Tamil remake of The Great Indian Kitchen. “Supporting roles don’t require much of my time. Now, I’m getting roles that help me stretch as an actor or work with talented people. In Sujeeth’s OG with Pawan Kalyan, for example, I get to do something no one has ever seen me do, and that excites me,” he says.

‘I will never write women who don’t add to the story’

Rahul surprised everyone when he debuted as a director in 2018 with Chi La Sow – the tale of two strangers meeting one night to discuss marriage. He followed that up with 2019’s Manmadhudu 2, a spiritual sequel to Nagarjuna’s 2002 hit Manmadhudu. Regardless of their flaws, both films had female characters that were well-fleshed out and, more importantly, real.

When I ask him if writing relatable female characters comes easily, he ponders, “I’m close to my mother. I am her first son, so she would talk to me. I was her best friend, and she would tell me everything. How I was raised has a lot to do with how important women are to me. So naturally, when I write women, I understand them better. If I write a film where the women have nothing to add, I will avoid writing them into the story.”

And now, Rahul is shooting for his third film, The Girlfriend with Rashmika Mandanna and Dheekshith Shetty. “Rashmika is the kind of person you could close your eyes and go to war with,” he says as soon as I ask him about her. “The amount of faith she has given me as a director…the way she has dived in and given her everything, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with her. I am good at ensuring that my actors have a comfortable working environment, and I adapt to work with them. But with Rashmika, our natural instincts just fit well together. Dheekshith is so motivated and driven that having him on set has been a joy. Anu Emmanuel plays an important role, and she brought her best.”

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