‘Top Gear’ is a fast-paced thriller: Aadi Saikumar

As ‘Top Gear’ hits the screens on December 30, Aadi Saikumar gets busy with promotions. This is his third release of the year.

In this interview, the ‘Prema Kavali’ and ‘Lovely’ star says that the BGM by ‘Arjun Reddy’ fame Harshavardhan Rameshwar is going to be one of the key highlights of the movie. He also adds that director K Shashikanth is knowledgeable about all crafts of filmmaking.

This year-end, many Telugu releases are hitting the screens. Why did you choose this date?

Small films have no other go. ‘Top Gear’ was supposed to be a Summer release, but top-billed movies left us with no space. We are releasing it when we have got an optimal release window.

In the era of OTT, what is so exceptional about ‘Top Gear’?

I would say that it’s a racy thriller with no extraneous scenes. I am a cab driver who is pushed by circumstances to always be in top gear. He is trapped in a dangerous situation. How he bails himself out of it is exciting.

As for other merits, the film is superior on the technical front. Be it Sai Sriram’s photography or Harshavardhan’s BGM (he is doing ‘Animal’ in Hindi and Ravi Teja’s ‘Ravanasura’ these days), everything is a banger. The latter is working on noted films. There is just one song in the movie. The characters played by the likes of Mime Gopi (the antagonist), Brahmaji, Riya Suman and Shatru will definitely keep the viewer hooked to the screens. The art director designed the car beautifully.

The trailer indicates that action scenes are many in the movie. Tell us about that.

Prudhvi has composed the fights. He has a script-driven approach to action scenes. He doesn’t make them look over the top and subjects the fights to the mood/story. His fights show the protagonist’s struggle in the fights. An important sequence was shot at 4 am. A fighter had a close shave with death while shooting for a risky stunt.

If you were to take stock of your innings, what would you say are its highlights?

I have always stuck to doing films with a unique plot point at the core. The technical quality of my movies like ‘Tees Maar Khan’ was so good. ‘Garam’ entertained many. ‘Operation Gold Fish’, ‘Sashi’ have done well with viewers post their theatrical release (on OTT). ‘Crazy Fellow’, too, has been lauded for its content on OTT. ‘Black’ is another well-made film.

You are also doing a web series for ZEE5. Tell us about that.

The ZEE5 web series is content-driven. In terms of production values, it is as good as a big-screen feature film. Lavanya Tripathi has a key role. Kona Venkat is one of its writers. ‘Puli-Meka’ is its title. I am playing a character that is not usually expected of me.

How about your upcoming films?

I am doing a film under the Lucky Media banner. It’s going to be a commercial film. I am in talks for a few other projects.

What changes do you see on the front of commercial movies?

‘KGF’ and the influence of English-language movies have changed the very definition of mass movies. The viewer expects mass movies to be stylish. I recently listened to a power-packed script. (Aadi suggested that producers are not inclined to mount it). Usually, scripts with commercial flavour come my way. I don’t mind doing realistic movies but they too have to be told with a tinge of commerciality.