Imagine knowing someone so well that you can recognise them even with your eyes closed, only to see them turn into a completely different person at work. That’s pretty much what Rashmika Mandanna experienced
while watching her husband, Vijay Deverakonda, play Ranabaali. The actor recently opened up about how different Vijay looked and felt in his latest film, and she even remembered Allu Arjun’s performance in Pushpa 2 while talking about it.
Directed by Rahul Sankrityan, Ranabaali stars Vijay and Rashmika and hit theatres on October 16. The film has received mixed reviews so far. On Friday evening, the team held a press conference in Hyderabad to talk about the film, where Rashmika had plenty to say about Vijay’s performance.
Rashmika has worked with Vijay before in films like Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade. But watching him play Ranabaali was a completely different experience for her. She knows what Vijay is like at home, so seeing him get so deeply into his character left her surprised.
Talking about the experience, she said, “When I was seeing Ranabaali be Ranabaali, there’s a full difference between Vijay and Ranabaali. Completely. Even on set, when I would speak to him off shooting, there’s one sense of Ranabaali. I’m like, where is Viju? You know?”
She also said it took her some time to understand just how much Vijay had put into the role. According to Rashmika, some characters take over an actor so completely that they begin to feel every emotion their character goes through.
“It took me time, but I understood with what gravitas he’s performing, at what level he’s performing it. When you do some characters, they just consume you fully. Every cell of you feels those emotions, that performance. So, I watched all that. This was a very new experience for me.”
While talking about Vijay’s transformation, Rashmika also remembered watching Allu Arjun play Pushpa in Pushpa 2: The Rule. She said she had seen a similar difference between the actor she knew and the character he played on screen. Referring to Allu Arjun by his nickname, Bunny, she said, “Of course, there was a similar experience in Pushpa 2 when Bunny sir was doing that. Bunny sir as Bunny sir and Bunny sir as Pushpa were two different people.”
Rashmika then explained why Vijay’s performance in Ranabaali felt different from their earlier films together. Despite knowing him so well, she said she saw something new in him this time.
“Like that, when I saw Viju…I’ve seen him personally at home. When I saw him on set, it was just different. The actors who perform know the feeling. But genuinely speaking, we did Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade, I feel like Ranabaali and Jayamma touched me. It felt different this time. For me, with the overall film, I have to say it’s him. He’s a one-man show.”
The conversation also got a little personal when Rashmika was asked in Telugu how she felt about Vijay’s success with Ranabaali. “Bhartha (husband)…We share the same pain, we share the same happiness, we share the same joy, we share the same experiences, we are one person now. So, there’s no difference between how does his success feel to me or how does my success feel to him.”
The couple dated for several years before tying the knot in Udaipur in February. Rashmika added that they had reached a point where they no longer looked at themselves as two separate people when it came to success.
“I think it’s been a while since we’ve stopped seeing each other as individual people. Now we’re one person, so for the rest of my life, and for the rest of his life, I feel like all our success is gonna be the same. So, I genuinely hope this becomes a huge blockbuster, as do all the films we do; I’ll be happy.”
Ranabaali also stars Arnold Vosloo as the main antagonist. The film collected Rs 9.25 crore net in India on its opening day, October 16, while its worldwide gross stood at Rs 16.15 crore, according to trade website Sacnilk.
