‘Rao Bahadur’ Will Be a Before-and-After Film in My Career: Satya Dev

July 1, 2026 Published by rajeshe092eb6a68

Actor Satya Dev is leaving no stone unturned to build excitement for his upcoming psychological thriller Rao Bahadur, and he believes the film will redefine his career. Speaking ahead of the film’s worldwide release on July 3, the actor said audiences would look at his journey as “before Rao Bahadur and after Rao Bahadur.”

“This is the most challenging role of my career,” Satya Dev said. “Until now, I used to look at my career as before Jyothi Lakshmi and after Jyothi Lakshmi. I believe that after Rao Bahadur, people will see it as before Rao Bahadur and after Rao Bahadur.”

The actor revealed that portraying the character of Ramappa demanded extraordinary physical and mental preparation. While prosthetic makeup took nearly five hours to apply and another one-and-a-half hours to remove every day, Satya Dev believes the real challenge was preparing mentally for the role.

“Heavy makeup wasn’t the biggest challenge. Mind makeup was more important. I prepared myself every day to work for 16 hours and completely immerse myself in the character,” he said.

Satya Dev described Ramappa as a character with no cinematic reference point. “There is no existing reference for Ramappa. After watching the film, Ramappa himself will become a reference for such characters. I became so immersed in the role that it felt like the character had taken over me,” he added.

He also shared that Rao Bahadur is a psychological drama infused with elements of magical realism and dark comedy, promising audiences an experience unlike anything Telugu cinema has explored before.

Adding to the excitement, Satya Dev revealed that Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar watched the film and spent nearly 40 minutes discussing it. According to the actor, Mahesh, along with filmmaker Sukumar, described Rao Bahadur as “a Telugu film never seen before.”

Presented by Mahesh Babu’s GMB Entertainment and directed by Venkatesh Maha, Rao Bahadur stars Satya Dev and Deepa Thomas in the lead roles. The psychological thriller is all set for a worldwide theatrical release on July 3.