The women of Shivaji Surathkal 2

With Shivaji Surathkal 2 gearing up for a release, we talk about the women of the film — Radhika Narayan, Meghana Gaonkar, and Sangeetha Sringeri — about being part of the sequel
The women of Shivaji Surathkal 2

Writer-director Akash Srivatsa, who is coming up with the sequel of the much-loved Shivaji Surathkal, shares that this instalment will have strong women characters. “There are a host of women that enrich the journey of Shivaji Surathkal. Be it his mother, sister, wife, daughter, and friends, each of them have a strong presence in his life,” says Akash as he delves deep into the characterisations of the women in Shivaji Surathkal 2.

“In the sequel, Shivaji, at one point is very vulnerable, and talks to his dead wife, played by Radhika Narayan. We have Meghana Goankar, who plays Shivaji’s superior officer, and is his support system,” says Akash, adding, “Sangeetha Sringeri, who appears in a special dance number, has a very key role to play in the film, which also has Vidya Murthy playing Shivaji’s mother-in-law, who has a pivotal character to play.”

The director observes that the most important woman in Shivaji’s life is definitely his daughter Siri Surathkal, played by Aaradhya. The other women in Shivaji’s journey include characters played by Nidhi Hegde, Srusti Shetty, and Madhura Gowda.

‘It’s been a beautiful journey with Shivaji Surathkal 1 and 2’

Radhika Narayan’s Janani will return for the sequel even if she just exists in Shivaji’s subconscious. “In such a representation you get to explore the character from various angles,” says Radhika Narayan about her role as she shares her experience working with director Akash and actor Ramesh Aravind. “I had a great time working with the director, especially during dubbing sessions. I have used different voice modulations to enhance my scenes. We all had as much fun shooting for part 2 as we did for part 1. Ramesh Aravind sir’s positive energy reflected on every one of us on the sets. Acting with him gave me so much creative joy. I just had to react to his expressive eyes. I’m keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for the success of the film,” says Radhika.

‘My role as Deepa Kamath adds value and importance’

Meghana Gaonkar, who plays DCP Deepa Kamath, the boss of Shivaji Surathkal, believes director Akash has a great eye for casting. “It was producer Rekha KN’s idea that a lady should be cast as Shivaji’s boss,” says Meghana, who felt doubly responsible to play the role correctly as her father is a cop.

Even though the role is small, Meghana feels she plays a rather realistic character with a lot of value and importance. “I met a few ACPs/IAS officers (women) to learn their body language. I also watched a lot of films suggested by my director for reference.”

‘The special song features me in a role, which I think is out-of-the-box’

Sangeetha Sringeri plays Silky Sharmila in the film. “Having played girl-next-door characters in my career, Sharmila is a very unique and special role. The song features me with heavy eye makeup, red lipstick, red velvet short romper with long wavy hair. That’s something I never even dreamt of dancing in,” she says.

Explaining in brief about her role, Sangeetha says, “Sharmila is surrounded by a lot of men, but she is waiting for that one man, and that one moment that will make everything special.” Talking about the relatable lyrics of the song, Sangeetha shares, “I must thank Akash and Judah Sandy for giving me this beautiful song. Master Dhananjay just transformed my whole body language to adapt to this freestyle dancing.”

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