Randeep Hooda’s directorial debut film ‘Swantantra Veer Savarkar‘ was the opening film of the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2024. In conversation with ETimes, the actor spoke about the film, his thoughts on biopics, and his experience working with Sunny Deol. Excerpts…
Are you planning to take on more biopics after Swantantra Veer Savarkar?
Sher Singh Rana, who brought back the remains of Prithviraj Chauhan from Afghanistan, is still in the works. We are trying to put it together. I am trying to stay away from biopics, as they can be very taxing. But people forget that I have done action and romantic films before Savarkar. I have done all kinds of movies. I would prefer to reach a broader and more flexible range of audiences through entertaining cinema, and action seems a good option.
Are you considering any directorial offers?
I have a lot of offers, but I will direct only if I am acting in it because I can’t find a better actor (laughs loudly at his joke). I am in the process of doing two or three things, and they’re mostly action.
What was your experience working with Sunny Deol and Mythri Movies?
I was in a rush to get back to a film just as an actor, and this opportunity came. The makers of Pushpa were making it, and Sunny Paaji was also in it. It was a no-brainer, and it was an action film. That is a great way to get on the set. Their way of working is different, but they are great, and it is good to get out of my comfort zone and jump into something that has never been done before in the genre. The kind of sensibility from the South was a challenge I took upon myself. I hope it turns out well.
Will Swantantra Veer Savarkar be showcased at any other film festivals?
It was such a struggle to make and release it. Most of the festivals need unreleased films, and we had very few opportunities to enter our movie into the competition, but we are trying to now. We missed the Oscar by a small margin, but I am sure it will find its audience. I kept getting invitations from festivals I was shooting, and I could not attend them.
Have you always wanted to be a commercial actor?
I always was, and now I am on the path to making masala films. Every artist’s deepest desire is to reach as many people as possible, and that is the plan.
!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive)
if (!isFBCampaignActive)
return;
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s)
if (f.fbq) return;
n = f.fbq = function()
n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(...arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);
;
if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;
n.push = n;
n.loaded = !0;
n.version = '2.0';
n.queue = [];
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
)(f, b, e, 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js', n, t, s);
fbq('init', '593671331875494');
fbq('track', 'PageView');
;
function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive)
if (!isGoogleCampaignActive)
return;
var id = document.getElementById('toi-plus-google-campaign');
if (id)
return;
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s)
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
t.id = 'toi-plus-google-campaign';
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
)(f, b, e, 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074', n, t, s);
;
function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){
const section = window.location.pathname.split('/')[1]
const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === '/' && allowedSurvicateSections.includes('homepage')
if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed)
(function(w)
function setAttributes()
var prime_user_status = window.isPrime ? 'paid' : 'free' ;
w._sva.setVisitorTraits(
toi_user_subscription_status : prime_user_status
);
if (w._sva && w._sva.setVisitorTraits)
setAttributes();
else
w.addEventListener("SurvicateReady", setAttributes);
var s = document.createElement('script');
s.src="https://survey.survicate.com/workspaces/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21/web_surveys.js";
s.async = true;
var e = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e);
)(window);
}
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || ;
var TimesApps = window.TimesApps;
TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config)
var isConfigAvailable = "toiplus_site_settings" in f && "isFBCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings && "isGoogleCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings;
var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime;
var isPrimeUserLayout = window.isPrimeUserLayout;
if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser)
loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections);
else
var JarvisUrl="https://jarvis.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published";
window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config)
if (config)
const allowedSectionSuricate = (isPrimeUserLayout) ? config?.allowedSurvicatePrimeSections : config?.allowedSurvicateSections
loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(allowedSectionSuricate);
)
;
})(
window,
document,
'script',
);
Source link
