'Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam' director Senna Hegde turns actor with 'Rifle Club' | Interview

Director Senna Hegde is probably best known for his Kerala State Award-winning work 'Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam', which released in theatres in 2021. After that the filmmaker who is of Kannadiga and Malayali descent, made two more Malayalam films – '1744 White Alto' and 'Padmini'. Now, the director is testing new waters and has turned actor with the film 'Rifle Club', which released in theatres on Thursday. The movie directed by Aashiq Abu and featuring a stellar cast is winning a lot of praise for its interesting execution and stylish filmmaking, besides performances by all the actors.

Senna Hedge told Onmanorama that he never thought he would become an actor even 'in his wildest dreams'. “I never wanted to be an actor. I always enjoyed being behind the camera. When I got a call from the film's casting director saying they wanted me to act in the film, I initially thought they were joking. There are some calls you don't want to say no to and this was one of them. Because, then one side of your brain starts thinking and you start being greedy since you got the call from one of the biggest teams in the Malayalam film industry and the who's who of the film industry. And even though you know you can't act, you don't want to throw it away, and you want to give it a try and that's what I did,” he said.

He said everyone on the sets, especially Aashiq went to great lengths to make him comfortable. “I went there, with the notion that I might return in a couple of days but I ended up shooting for 20 days. I learned a lot, not only as an actor, but in terms of filmmaking and writing. The kind of movies that I make and the kind of movie I now acted in are poles apart. I got to learn a lot and it was one of the most wonderful experiences I got in my life,” he said.

Senna, in his past interviews, had mentioned how filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had changed his life when the acclaimed director had shared the trailer of Senna's documentary '0-41*' on social media. It is interesting to note that Senna Hegde shares some good space along with Anurag Kashyap in 'Rifle Club'.