After TVF Pitchers, Naveen Kasturia is back in the digital space, only this time, the actor will be seen in a bilingual titled Social, also starring Rana Dagubatti,Priya Banerjee, Abdul Razzaq and Moin Khan.
The social media thriller directed by Shashi Sudigala began earlier this month and Naveen plays the protagonist who is on a mission to find his kidnapped sister through the influence of social media platforms and Rana Dagubatti plays the tycoon/ mastermind of sorts by heading a company named Social
Viu's Social addresses cyber crime and is said to be a 13 episode series about four people and their journey of finding the missing girl through social media. At the looks of it Naveen plays the vulnerable brother, who is ready to compromise on anything to find his trapped sister.
Naveen Kasturia, Priya Banerjee , Moin and Abdul Rassaq at the launch of Viu’s digital show Social
In a recent press meet, Naveen Kasturia discusses all about Social, working in Telugu for the first time, his upcoming web shows and more.
Social happens to be a bilingual digital series, what made you chose this project, also shot in Telugu apart from Hindi as your next?
I did not think much about the language when I said yes to the show. It was the script was the idea and the concept. Also I had meeting with Shashi Sudigala, that made me say yes to it. I am very keen to explore various genres and languages with digital platforms since it is a safe and enabling space for creativity. I was initially anxious about working in Telugu, but Shashi made me comfortable. Also, it is the way that the story is been told. The screenplay of the show attracted me.
How was it working with director Shashi Sudigala?
It's been very good. He's the one making things easy for us. We are improvising so much on set, he doesn't even want us to learn our lines, he just wants us to come on set and have fun. We should just know the theme or the point of the scene and nothing else. We restructure every time we come on set depending on, he takes inputs from every actor.
What according to you is the main takeaway from Social, for the audience?
I can't slot it in one genre. Can't say it's a mystery or a thriller or a drama. For me it's the theme. Every script is also trying to say something. What this show is trying to say is that you'll have to be little careful on the social space. The number of likes or comments on a picture on social media make us feel very good about, but it also hampers your privacy at some point. So it can lead to other places that we are not aware of. So that's why the tag line, a click can destroy your life.
You have worked as an assistant director in 4 films including Shangai and Jashnn, any plans of pursuing film making soon?
I wanted to be a filmmaker, so I starred as an assistant director and then I thought i'll start making my film and also act in it. That's what my master plan was. So, I won't be going back as an AD. I will still want to direct some day. Also, I am still more of an audience. I like to watch stories. As an actor I am always trying to contribute to the story and not the role. I try to contribute in that way and discuss with the director. Acting is something that I am still discovering.
What projects are you currently pursuing apart from Social?
Pitchers 2 is going to happen next. We are planning to shoot in November and December and it'll hopefully come out by March next year. I am also working on a web show called Bose with Alt Balaji, Pulkit has directed it and Rajkumar Rao is playing Bose. It has an amazing script. I have also done 3 films this year.
What can we look forward to in Pitchers 2?
It's the journey of the same guys who get the funding in the last episode. Except this time it is different conflicts in personal relationships and professional issues. The audience will also get to know their idea as that wasn't disclosed in the first season. But yeah I am can't give away the structure yet!
Published Date: Sep 23, 2017 03:19 pm | Updated Date: Sep 23, 2017 03:25 pm
