Adivi Sesh recalls journey of making 'Major'; pays tribute to Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Remembering Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan on his death anniversary on November 27, the team of Major paid a tribute to the martyred officer with an emotional video evoking the journey of making the movie. Actor Adivi Sesh will be playing Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s character in the movie which is being directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka. Adivi recently recited his experience while recalling the filming process of the movie. He traced the journey from signing the movie to meeting Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan's parents.

Actor Adivi Sesh's emotional tribute to Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

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Remembering his first memory of Major Sandeep, the actor said, “I can only say that he impacted my life from the first moment I knew about him. It was in 2008, I remember when I had seen his photograph, splashed across all the channels. I didn't know what to make of it, I kept wondering, who is this man. There was some sort of madness of spirit in his eyes, aur hothon pe halki si hasi (and faded smile on his face). There was a madness and there was a smile, I couldn't understand it. He looked like he could be one of my family members, an older cousin, and then I found out, he was Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and he'd given his life for the country, I couldn't stop looking at that now-iconic passport photograph."

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He further went on to reveal the story behind the photo. Panjaa actor Adivi shared, "I later found out from his parents that he was simply trying not to smile badly when he took the passport picture. He was initially giving this big wide smile. Woh photographer ne fauran daanta unko ki aise nahi haste, passport photo mein hasna nahi chahiye (and the photographer shouted that you should never laugh for a passport picture)."

"So, the lips were hiding his smile but that madness in spirit was shining through his eyes and I think that's what captivated me and captivated most of India. I think that picture is very iconic, that is why they make so many paintings of that photo," he added.

Describing the battle of gaining trust and getting consent from Major Sandeep's parents to make the movie, Adivi revealed, "When I first called uncle, Mr. Unnikrishnan, Major Sandeep's father, he didn't believe ki koi pichhle 10 saal se Major Sandeep ki zindagi pe research kar raha tha (that since past 10 years someone has been researching on the life of Major Sandeep and wanted to tell a story inspired by his life). I don't think that uncle believed ke Hyderabad ka koi South Indian ladka jo US mein pala-badha hai, matlab waha se aakar koi film banana chah raha hai (that some South Indian guy from Hyderabad who is born and brought up in US would come to India and want to make a film)."

"He was very cynical in fact. Since they didn't believe me, my team and I we all kept meeting uncle and aunty, I think after the fourth or fifth time, they started to trust me a little bit and I imagined this moment after the fourth meeting, uncle looked me in the eye with lot of sincerity, 'I believe you want to make a movie about my son's life 10%. 0 se 10 tak gaye the and sab hasne lage (we reached 10 from zero and everyone started laughing), we were all laughing ki chalo 0 se 10 tak toh pohoche (that at least we reached 10 from starting at zero), and there was a lot of relief behind that laughter because he believed 10% that maybe there was a chance that somebody genuinely wanted to tell this great man's story, not for exploitative reasons but just because they believed in the kind of life this man had led," he added.

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Speaking about the journey of the movie, the Dongaata actor added, "Ever since then, it's just been a crazy number of many battles of trying to get this film made and making sure we do justice to how we're doing this film and we're still making the film." He also explained the importance of the day November 27, he said, "27th ko Major Sandeep shaheed hue the (Major Sandeep was martyred on 27th) and so we are releasing this video on the 27th with the intention to celebrate his life. The film speaks about the way he lived, not about the way he died". He concluded his appeal saying, "I hope you like my humble attempt in trying to find the spirit of Major Sandeep within myself."

The bilingual movie which stars Adivi Sesh, Sobhita Dhulipala and Saiee Manjrekar will be released in both Hindi and Telugu. It is produced by Sony Pictures Films India in association with Mahesh Babu's GMB Entertainment and A+S Movies. The movie is scheduled to release next year.

With inputs from PR

Image Source: PR

Also read: Marking Sandeep Unnikrishnan's Death Anniversary, Team 'Major' Pays Tribute