Bengaluru’s Lekha Naidu makes her ‘second’ debut in 'Roopanthara' being presented by Raj B Shetty, that releases today

We’ve seen her in the theatre scene for more than a decade and there isn’t a field of art that this multi-talented artiste hasn’t toyed with. Lekha Naidu is a theatre person above all else, but she’s always willing to pursue anything that has a beating soul of culture, art and aesthetics. It’s no wonder that she’s currently a program manager with Bangalore International Centre, Domlur; and today will see the release of her second film project, Roopanthara, which in reality was her ‘debut’ in many ways. We catch up with her to talk about the project and so much more…

Roopanthara is actually your debut project, just that it’s releasing second?

Yes, it was conceived around the same time as Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021) by Mithilesh Edavalath and team but we worked on it through the lockdown and now it’s finally ready. In between Window Seat by Sheetal Shetty happened and that was a very different film, but it hit theatres first, so that became my debut, even though this was my first project. In my first year of college at Mount Carmel I did a theatre workshop, and I just knew that this is my space, this is where I feel like myself. This, after several years of not fitting in, and of course, like, teenager problems. Over time, I started with backstage. I did four years of backstage before stepping onto stage as an actress. I had very early on decided that I wanted to work in and around the arts. I was not made for a desk job. I learned lights, I became a self taught photographer and all of this was just to sort of make a living while trying to find spaces where I could get on stage. So at the core, I’ve always been a theatre practitioner. Film happened to me just very incidentally. Both the projects that I have been part of have come about very accidentally. Although I was curious about what would happen if I were in a film and there were projects that I auditioned for and got rejected. But I always was curious. I was quite frustrated after a while and thought about giving up on it and that’s when Roopanthara happened.

So, how did this project come about?

So Suhan Prasad had produced Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017), which was a big hit in the Kannada industry and Suhan comes from the Tulu industry — he has directed and produced a few successful films there. His focus has always been to find great stories to tell — content driven cinema. He’s very specifically stayed away from mainstream formulaic narratives. He met Mithilesh through some common friends and he had this fantastic script. I’m not saying it’s fantastic because I’m in it. But when I read the script for the first time, it just blew me away. Even if 40 percent of the script came alive on screen, I thought it would be one of the best things ever to come out of Indian cinema.

And then after that, you went on to act in Window Seat ?

Sheetal Shetty made Window Seat, which was offered to me after Roopanthara and this film’s process had already begun. That was a completely different character and a completely wonderful experience. There I played a cop, which was well received.

So Roopanthara releases today, what do you hope for the film?

There are some jitters, the butterflies! The film itself, the motif of the film is the butterfly. So butterflies! And it’s been a long time coming. It’s a labour of love and I’m absolutely confident of the kind of work that has gone into it. As an actor, at this point, I don’t know, I would not put any expectations on how the audience would or should receive my character. But the thing about this film is — it’s not about the character, but it’s about how like a jigsaw puzzle, all these various characters fit into each other’s lives. And if one thing makes sense, then inevitably, the whole picture has to make sense.

Finally, what are the other projects you have in your kitty right now?

I have already shot for a film by Poojitha Prasad. That is a fantastic script. It’s called None of Her. We shot it simultaneously in English and Kannada. It’s about everyday women and it’s very relatable. But other than that, theatre continues to be my mainstay and I continue to focus on my work as a program manager at BIC.

In theatres today.

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