At a time when Praneeta Patnaik is slowly trying to carve a niche for herself in Tollywood, she was called for an audition by director Gopichand Malineni and his Jaat team. By the time she went to the office, she saw 300 more girls waiting to give their audition. But the competition didn’t dampen her spirits and she gave her best shot. “After my audition, I gave a look test. They liked my versatility and I came on board,” shares Praneeta.
The actress will play one of the constables in the film. Since it is an action entertainer, Praneeta was part of action sequences. And to prepare for her part she has to stay on top of her fitness game. “Shooting for action sequences was taxing, and I injured my knee in one of the scenes. I had cuts and bruises on the knee and it was so swollen that I suffered for four months. We shot for the action episodes at the sand dunes in Chirala (Andhra Pradesh).”
Praneeta states that bashing the goons was an enjoyable experience. She had three major action blocks, and shooting for intense action scenes was memorable. “However, the character demanded a lot of physical fitness and to stay strong mentally. I wanted to thank Gopichand sir for the opportunity. His clarity of thought was great.”
The actress states that working with Bollywood star Sunny Deol has been a learning experience. “Sunny sir’s childlike enthusiasm on the sets inspired me a lot. He did not have any airs of a star, he was chilled. He was asking about my journey and my work. He explained to me about how commercial cinema works,” she says, adding that they bonded over films and food. “He shared about his love for food and how he explored Hyderabad cuisines when he was shooting here. Craft wise too, he cares about every shot and his attention to detailing is terrific, and he cares for his audiences. He gave me tips on action sequences…on how not to overlap, punching techniques, expressions during intense scenes, etc. so it was a learning experience for me.”
Praneeta also shared screen with Randeep Hooda, although she shot with him briefly. “He was amazing…he was a bit reserved but was not unapproachable. I expressed to him my admiration for his work in films like Sultan and Highway. I am his big fan.”
The actress was earlier part of films like Sita Ramam, C/O Kancharapalem, Kumari Srimathi, Paruvu, etc., But for someone who never went to film school, being a classical dancer at a tender age gave her the edge. A Kuchipudi exponent, dance came in handy for the actress. “I have trained with dance gurus who helped me get my eyes and lip moment, and other minuscule details right,” she shared.
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