Kiccha Sudeep Recalls 'Dreadful' Words SS Rajamouli Said During Eega: I Have Failed As Actor

Kannada

superstar Kiccha Sudeep is all geared up for his first release of 2025, Mark, which comes exactly a year after his last release, Max. Both films are directed by Vijay Kartikeyaa. Mark is all set to release on 25 December, coinciding with the festive season. While promoting the film, the actor spoke about playing one of the most challenging roles of his career, mentioning the film Eega. He shared his understanding of a particular scene and director S.S. Rajamouli’s vision to improve it. Sudeep also acknowledged his fear of becoming a “failed actor” if he didn’t execute the scene well.

Kiccha Sudeep Recalls Overcoming 'Miserable Feeling' While Working On SS Rajamouli's Eega

Talking to Sudhir Srinivasan on his YouTube channel, Kiccha Sudeep said that before the scene was shot, SS Rajamouli gave him a brief. He recalled SS Rajamouli saying “Sudeep, today I really don’t know what you should be doing. But let me tell you, there is a fine line between a comedian and a joker. I want you to be funny, but I don’t want you to become a joker. So keep that in mind.”

After listening to these words, Kiccha Sudeep admitted that he became nervous, calling it the “most dreadful thing” he could hear from a director. He added,“This is the most dreadful thing a director can tell me before a shot. If I perform and he comes to me and asks me to tone it down, I would say, ‘Okay sir, sure.’ But if, even after giving me a brief and explaining everything, he still says no, then imagine—I have failed as an actor. It’s a miserable feeling. After I performed that challenging scene, I looked at him and he seemed to like it, so I was happy too.”

The film Eega tells the story of Nani, who is in love with his neighbour, Bindu. He is murdered by a wealthy industrialist named Sudeep, who wants to get close to Bindu and sees Nani as a threat. Nani reincarnates as a housefly and seeks to avenge his death while protecting Bindu. Eega was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year, earning over ₹125 crore. It also won two National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Best Special Effects.