In the midst of finalising the postproduction of his Telugu film Rao Bahadur, releasing in theatres on July 3, Venkatesh Maha and his team were up till 4am. Yet, when the director walks in for this interview at his office in Hyderabad, around noon, he does not look fatigued. He credits it to mindful eating and a diligent fitness routine. “Intermittently I had lost my way. It felt good to revert to the basics,” he says. That sense of discipline, he says, also helped him pull off the ambitious psychological drama with elements of magical realism, starring Satya Dev in the title role.
In the film, Rao Bahadur is an aristocrat surviving terminal illness and is nicknamed ‘the man of miracles’. The period drama is set in Brahmandanagaram, a fictional town on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, and traces the life of an unpredictable protagonist prone to hallucination.
“The story’s underlying theme is universal. His palatial house is named Bhuvanalayam and the shots showing people entering or leaving the space works as a metaphor to stepping in and out of his world,” says Maha. He describes Rao Bahadur as an “anti-hero” and adds, “we neither glorify nor pity him. We intend to convey what made him the person he is and what he could have been.”
Distinct from the crowd
The germ of the idea for Rao Bahadur emerged on the sets of Maha’s debut film Care of Kancharapalem (CoK), the 2018 indie that continues to be celebrated. Maha recalls looking into the camera during a scene and noticing how one supporting actor, chosen from among the residents of the locality, had features distinct from the others. “When I spoke to him, something he said triggered a story idea.”
The bigger push to develop this idea into a script came during the pandemic. Maha, with directors Vivek Athreya, Bharat Kamma and RSJ Swaroop, was working on an anthology to be produced by actor Nani. “The story I wrote was beyond the scope of that anthology. While brainstorming, Swaroop narrated an incident briefly and suggested I could develop it into a story. It was an amusing anecdote that had us in splits. That incident, combined with my observation during CoK, came together in my mind and a story took shape.”
Venkatesh Maha and cinematographer Kartik Parmar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The anthology did not take off. But a compelling story kept brewing, says Maha. “I was taking care of my mom who was recovering from a surgery just when the second wave of COVID-19 had set in. Once we returned home from the hospital, I began writing.” He completed the first draft in six days.
However, the change in viewing habits during the pandemic and an intermittent rough phase that Maha went through meant that the ambitious film had to wait. Maha wrote another story titled Sumathi, set in the US, but that too got shelved. He directed a short story for the anthology Modern Love Hyderabad, produced the Telugu film Martin Luther Kingdirected by Pooja Kolluru, and took up acting assignments. “I had to keep my company (Mahayana Motion Pictures) afloat, pay salaries and office rent.”
Ahead of time
He continued to pitch the story of Rao Bahadur to several producers. “I was told I was five years ahead of the time; I didn’t realise back then that it would actually take me five years to realise the dream of making this film,” Maha says with a laugh. There was hope when producer Rajeev Reddy backed his vision. They searched for likeminded collaborators for a year, in vain.
One fine day, the tables turned.
“At dawn, I received a call from (music composer) MM Keeravani sir. He had remembered CoK and had called to check on me. He asked what I was working on next. Later that day Anurag Reddy called and said he and Sharath Chandra of A+S Movies are keen to produce Rao Bahadur.”
Soon, producer Chinta Gopalakrishna Reddy of SriChakraas Entertainments also came on board. Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar agreed to present the film. “A six-hour story narration and a two-hour discussion later, Namrata ma’am agreed to present it,” adds Maha.
By then, Maha and his team had already worked on the pre-production, detailing the curious mansion that the title character inhabits, and the music and cinematography that would befit the period drama.
Satya Dev and Venkatesh Maha on the sets of the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
John Lennon inspiration
“We had done a lot of work in spurts. So once the production logistics were finalised, we began filming in a fortnight,” says Maha. His long-time friend and actor Satya Dev had agreed to star in the film, after initial apprehension given the enormity of the character. This role had been pitched to other actors who had hesitated.
“Satya Dev’s only apprehension was how to play this unpredictable character,” Maha recalls. “A chunk of the story happens from 1968 to 1991. Rao is a character who hails from an affluent background, travels the world and speaks English with finesse. He is free spirited and sports a look inspired by John Lennon.”
Satya Dev sat through hours for the elaborate makeup, which included prosthetics, each day of the shoot. Apart from the physicality required for the part, Satya Dev and Maha had several discussions on the nuances of the character’s psychology.
“We knew there was a thin line between cracking the character, and the film, or making it appear gimmicky.” A 15-day workshop helped. Extensive workshops were also conducted for Deepa Thomas who plays the female lead, Vikas Muppala as the friend and several others.
Maha is confident about the film and credits his 10-member direction team, apart from the entire film unit, and his script consultants Pooja Kolluru and Pierre Assouline for keeping him grounded all through the journey. “We were careful that the magical realism and the drama go hand in hand, without going overboard. I think we managed a good balance.”
Published – June 30, 2026 07:30 am IST
