Interview | Raashii Khanna says Siddhu Jonnalagadda's character in ‘emotionally violent’ Telusu Kada isn't ‘toxic’

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Raashii Khanna talks about her upcoming film Telusu Kada, co-star Siddhu Jonnalagadda and more.

It has been three years since Raashii Khanna was last seen in a Telugu film. And yet, the actor who has made Hyderabad her home for eight years now does not feel like she was ever away from it. “I never realised it till the teaser of Telusu Kada released and people said, oh! We’re seeing you after three years. Despite my work in Hindi and Tamil, they wanted to see me in their own language…I understand it,” Raashii tells Hindustan Times, describing the feeling as ‘coming home’.

Raashii Khanna and Siddhu Jonnalagadda headline Neeraja Konda's film Telusu Kada with Srinidhi Shetty and Harsha.

Telusu Kada is an ‘emotionally violent’ film

The last time Raashii was on vacation might have been two years ago, but the actor seems spent due to more than just that. “Telusu Kada is such an emotionally violent film that it’ll stir up emotions in you, maybe even make you feel triggered. Now, I don’t know if you’ll like it or not, but for sure you cannot ignore it. The whole point of art is to kick off conversations, and this film will make people talk about boundaries, relationships and love,” says the actor. Ask her to describe the film, and she poetically says, “It is like a bleeding rose, because love isn’t a bed of roses either.”

Meet the players of Telusu Kada

Siddhu Jonnalagadda plays a man with no filter, Varun, in the film, while Raashii plays Anjali and Srinidhi Shetty plays Raaga. If the trailer is anything to go by, their characters seem intertwined in an unhealthy way, for better or worse. Despite what it seems like in the trailer, Raashii says that Varun ‘isn’t toxic’, he’s just a ‘blatantly honest guy’. “Everyone wants honesty in relationships, till it's a tough pill to swallow. And his character doesn't lie,” she explains, adding, “This film helped me grow as an actor and as a person because it demanded a lot from me. Now that the film is releasing, I feel like a part of me is also.”

Siddhu is a serious actor despite his image

Raashii says that she, Siddhu, Srinidhi, and Harsha spent ample time together and got to know each other better, so their rapport could translate more effectively on-screen. “I’ve realised that Siddhu might be giving these funny comebacks in interviews, but he’s actually a serious actor on set. He’s all about the scene when he’s working. I learnt a lot from him,” she says, adding, “As an outsider, I understand his struggle. He told me he had to learn everything because he didn’t have a choice; he had no cushion. He lives and breathes cinema; for him, it’s his life. I am not like that, for me cinema is only a part of my life.”

The emotional toll of playing Anjali

After a point, Raashii was so ‘emotionally stirred’ from playing Anjali, she had to stop shooting for half an hour to understand the motivations. “I remember while shooting the climax, I had questions…it just triggered me,” she says, adding, “I feel a moral responsibility as an actor, especially in India, where people can’t differentiate between a character and the actor. People tend to emulate you. Let’s just say I would’ve responded differently in that situation, but I respect Anjali. I could relate to the fact that she has a spine and knows when to be selfish. Because women have been told far too long to be otherwise.”

Women writing women characters

Raashii has been working in films since 2013 and has worked with numerous directors. But one thing she gives debutant director Neeraja Kona credit for is the way she wrote the female characters in the film. “If you ask me, I don’t think gender matters when it comes to direction. But it does when it comes to writing,” she says. “We need more women's voices in cinema because when you watch the movie, you understand that the kind of nuances she brings to Anjali or Raaga, and even Varun, only a woman can do that,” she says, rounding off.