Chaithra Achar has carved a distinctive space for herself in Kannada cinema with acclaimed performances in Taledanda, Toby, Saptha Sagaradaache Ello: Side B, and Blink. She is now simultaneously working in films beyond Kannada. After making her Tamil debut with 3BHK alongside Siddharth, the actor has stepped into the Telugu industry with her biggest project yet.
She is set to make her Telugu debut with Fauzi, a period war action drama starring Prabhas and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. The film also features newcomer Imanvi, and veterans like Mithun Chakraborty, Jayaprada, and Anupam Kher. Chaithra recently joined the sets of the film. “The filming has begun on a very interesting note,” she tells us from the location.
Chaithra believes that Fauzi came at an important juncture of her acting career, and a project of this magnitude is a novel experience. “Being part of Fauzi is important on a couple of levels,” she says. “I get to work in a big film, and working with Prabhas itself is a great learning experience. I want to understand how huge productions function, the rhythm of the set, the craft, and the attention to detail that goes into making a film of this scale. I am excited about the role because it is key to the story. Big or small does not matter to me. What matters is the world the film builds, and on that front, Fauzi is on another level.”
Reminiscing her first meeting with Prabhas, Chaitra says, “Apparently, the director had already shown him a few of my shots. So when I introduced myself, he said that he'd already seen some clips of my work and found them interesting. Although he is very shy, I made sure to tell him that I am a huge fan of his film Mirchi and that I have watched it at least 25 times. That was our initial conversation, and I hope I get to talk to him more as the shoot progresses.”
Back in Kannada, Chaithra is gearing up for the release of Maarnami, which is expected to be released in multiple languages. While Chaitra has also signed another Telugu project, she is waiting for the makers to make the official announcement.