“I feel as though I have submitted my papers and am awaiting the results,” says director Sailesh Kolanu, settling down for this interview soon after doing a final check of his Telugu film Saindhav, releasing in theatres on January 13. Headlined by Venkatesh Daggubati and starring Shraddha Srinath, child actor Ssara Palekar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ruhani Sharma, Arya and Andrea Jeremiah, the action thriller and family drama is Sailesh’s biggest venture to date.
An optometrist-turned-writer-director, Sailesh debuted in Telugu cinema with HIT: The First Case (Homicide Intervention Team) and followed it up with HIT: The Second Case. He had intended to take a detour from the HIT universe and direct a romance drama with newcomers. However, things took a turn when Venkatesh, after watching HIT 2, called to share his appreciation. “When I went to meet him, our ideologies and outlook towards life matched and we hit it off instantly. I was surprised when he said he is open to working with a two-film-old director like me,” Sailesh recalls.
Sailesh had written the story of Saindhav during the lockdown, inspired by a boy who had knocked on his door to request funding for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. To his shock, Sailesh learnt that the medicine costs ₹17 crore!
