Actor Sivaji Sontineni, broadly referred to as Sivaji, tears up for a fleeting second when he talks about the adulation coming his manner since the launch of the Telugu movie, Court: State Vs A Nobody. “It has been 13 years,” he says, referring to his hiatus from cinema, throughout an interview at his workplace in Film Nagar, Hyderabad. He has witnessed the viewers’ response up shut throughout the promotional tour in the Telugu States and says his household is over the moon. “I tell my children that this euphoria is not forever. I am a middle class man; I hold back my emotions and pray that even if things do not get better, it should not go downhill.”
With greater than 70 movies to his credit score, as lead actor and in pivotal characters in movies comparable to Missamma, Mr & Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy and Indra from the later Nineties to the early 2010s, Sivaji is glad {that a} new generation of writers, administrators and audiences are discovering him.
The reckoning
Prior to the launch of Court, its director Ram Jagadeesh had advised this journalist that Sivaji’s portrayal of the antagonist character, Mangapathi, will develop into a subject of dialogue.
Sivaji acknowledges, “The day Court was pitched to me, I knew that this is the film I had been waiting for.” He attracts a comparability with Shruti Haasan’s character in Race Gurram, the place she stays poker confronted, concealing an upheaval of feelings. “That was pretty much my condition.” In pre-release promotions, he had said, “this is Mangapathi’s world and all other characters are living in it.” He displays, “That statement did not come from arrogance; I was aware of the character’s impact.”
Initially, Sivaji was curious to know the way Ram had envisioned him as an overbearing, ego-driven patriarch, which is not like the characters he had portrayed earlier. “Ram and his co-writers Karthik and Vamsi told me that they would spend all day developing the script and in the evening, they would watch Bigg Boss 7. Watching me in the reality show, they had discovered their Mangapathi. They told Nani (actor-producer) that they could not imagine anyone else in that part.”
Like a monarch
Sivaji in ‘Court: State Vs A Nobody’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Sivaji remembers finishing all his photographs in a single or two takes. “Ram told me that Mangapathi thinks of himself as a monarch, speaks at a pitch that makes everyone listen. I understood what defines his behaviour. There is a Mangapathi in every family, in varying degrees. A father tends to be protective about his daughter and a son is protective about his mother. This character crosses the line.”
He speaks in earnestness about his co-stars Priyadarshi, Rohini, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Surabhi Prabhavathi, Rajasekhar Aningi, Harshavardhan, Roshan and Sridevi, and the technical crew. “The dialogues and body language conveyed the depth of each character. Years ago, when I was working as an editor in Gemini television, I would watch Telugu classics featuring SV Ranga Rao, Rao Gopal Rao and Nagabhushanam. These legends and actors like Prakash Raj have shown us how antagonists can command attention with their dialogue delivery. I am glad I could do something on similar lines,” says Sivaji.
In early 2024, Sivaji featured in the ETV Win internet sequence, 90s: A Middle Class Biopic. This alternative got here to the actor after years. “I devoted my time to politics. I have no regrets. Before that, I was hurt that I was an unsung hero in a few films. I have put all that behind me now. My wife supported me through each phase of my work. One day, my children told me that I should act again.”
However, Sivaji didn’t need to knock the doorways of administrators and producers for alternatives. During the pandemic, he purchased the rights of a Tamil movie and labored on producing a Telugu remake. “Work was underway and then we went in for a second lockdown. I took it as a sign that this film was not meant to be.”
The turning level
In the meantime, Sivaji contacted producer Bapineedu of ETV Network. “We spoke about the possibilities to collaborate by which I could produce a film.”
Soon, he obtained the alternative for the 90s internet sequence and Bigg Boss 7. “I was not sure if I could be a part of Bigg Boss, since I had committed to the 90s. Bapineedu encouraged me to do both. We filmed the web series in 25 days and on the 27th day, I joined the reality show. I liked the concept of being among strangers in the Bigg Boss house and expressed my confidence to the MAA TV show producer that I would be among the last to leave that house.” Sivaji was the second runner-up that season.
Now, Sivaji is finishing his dwelling manufacturing that additionally stars Laya, his co-star from the early 2000s. More movies are in the pipeline. “This morning, I listened to a story narration before this interview. I am hopeful of continuing to do qualitative work. If money is all that I was looking for, I would have done a dozen films. I want my work to be significant.”
Published – March 24, 2025 07:28 pm IST
