For Adivi Sesh, holding onto his identity as an Indian while growing up in the USA was a tough challenge, with no onscreen role model to help him navigate the phase, and help him connect with his roots. The actor admits that the chapter of his life continues to influence his career till date.
“I am a big believer in telling stories and ethos that have something to tell about India. It is because I remember feeling out of place while growing up in the US and wanting to come back to India my whole life,” Sesh tells us, adding, “That is tied into my psychology, so it sometimes happens without me realising it. For instance, three out of my next five films are deeply rooted to the theme of India.”
In fact, his last release, Major, was also a reflection of this psychology as it narrates the life story of 26/11 martyr Sandeep Unnikrishnan. The film, which was in the making for over two years, finally opened on the big screen to a positive response.
Looking back at his childhood, the 36-year-old shares, “Growing up, I never saw brown Tom Cruise. When I was growing up, I always knew that my biggest success, if I ever made it in Hollywood, would be to play the comedian, or play a guy who works at a petrol station, or a guy who’s a software engineer or a terrorist. I knew I wasn’t going to be the man carrying the next Marvel film. So, it made sense to me to come back to India and work in the beautiful flourishing industry”.
With the West making the right noise with the representation, and opening of doors, is Hollywood his next destination? “We can’t rule anything out. That’s kind of where I’m at in my head,” says the actor, who is happy about the lines between film industries in the country blurring.
Giving words to his thoughts, Sesh says, “When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco, the American media, while talking about Indian cinema, they used to refer to it as Bollywood. Recently, they listed RRR as the number one film, and didn’t call it a Bollywood or Tollywood project. Instead, they called it an Indian film”.
“I’m truly proud that the word Indian started getting used once South Indian films started doing well in Hindi (sector). Now, I hope to collaborate with actors and artists of all industries,” says the actor, who has been getting several offers after the release of Major.
“Along with the audience, leaders of the state have liked it, and we are going to be meeting the President of India soon. The response gets more and more beautiful… I had committed to four films before the release of Major. I’ll have to see what else I can take up on top of that. It’s nice to make a film and find a new audience. Also, there’s no pressure to be hireable, because you’re already doing what you do anyway. That’s a nice feeling,” he says while ending.
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