‘Gandhi and Chettu’ lead actress and Sukumar-Thabitha’s daughter Sukrithi Veni Bandareddy wants to become a music teacher.

14 year old lead actress of Telugu film Sukrithi Veni Bandareddy Gandhi and ChettuRecalls her first day on the set. “We were filming montage shots of my character Gandhi walking from home to school. In the beginning I felt overwhelmed and struggled. I told myself to just concentrate on walking.” Sukriti was 12 years old at the time and trained for two months with the film’s writer-director Padmavathi Malladi before going to Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts of Telangana for shooting.

After completing her first shot, Sukriti asked Padmavati if her performance was satisfactory. Padmavati encouraged him to move forward and walk faster, so that the scene would be in line with Gandhiji’s idea of ​​walking ahead of others. Sukriti says, “I learned to pay attention to small things, like keeping my back straight. I had to portray the body language of my character.”

When the trailer of the film was released, many followers of Telugu cinema were surprised to know that Sukrithi, daughter of directors Sukumar and Thabeetha Sukumar, is making her acting career debut.

The film is scheduled to release in theaters on January 24. Sukriti explains, “A friend who saw the preview told me that I don’t look or sound like me on screen; He saw only Gandhi. Looking back I wonder if I should have looked more mature. At that time, when the director described Gandhi as an innocent, energetic girl, I interpreted her as a child and spoke in a child-like voice.

Dialogues were recorded using sync sound (capturing sound live on set rather than in a studio). “When the director called action everyone became quiet and we concentrated on getting everything right. If we made a mistake in a line, we would have to start again,” recalls Sukriti.

Established in rural Telangana in the early 2000s, Gandhi and Chettu Gives a sense of place and time. Born and raised in Hyderabad, Sukriti attended summer courses at Berklee College of Music in 2023 and 2024, where she studied music theory and singing. During this interview at the office of Mythri Movie Makers in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Sukriti comes across as a typical urban high school student.

However, she easily switches to the Telangana Telugu dialect, which she is familiar with since childhood. “I loved the village where we filmed and even made some friends. When the program ended, I asked my mother if we could stay longer.

Acting was not a planned activity for Sukriti, who was more inclined towards music. “As a child, I listened to a lot of Telugu music. Over time, I was exposed to Mexican, Turkish and Spanish music, which broadened my perspective.

Sukriti was initially hesitant about singing in school. “The lead guitarist of the school band asked if I could sing. At first I refused but eventually agreed until they found someone else. I stopped. The band focused on rock music.

After moving to a new school, Sukriti’s music teacher encouraged her to explore pop and other genres, which further piqued her interest. Their first summer program at Berklee in 2023 was both educational and entertaining. “I met a lot of interesting people and told my mom I wanted to come back next year.”

Sukriti with her parents Thabitha and director Sukumar. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Sukriti says she is ready to explore opportunities for both singing and acting. When he first learned that its creator Gandhi and Chettu When we were considering her for the lead role, she was hesitant. “My parents encouraged me,” she says.

During her initial meeting with producer Sesha Sindhu Rao and director Padmavathi Malladi, both of them noticed Sukriti’s enthusiasm when she narrated her school incidents. His animated narration convinced Padmavati that he had the energy and presence of an actor. That conversation proved to be his informal audition. “Once I got comfortable with people, I started talking a lot,” laughs Sukriti. “They gave me a few lines to learn, and before I knew it, I was in the movie. Was part of.”

Sukriti’s initial nervousness on the set vanished within a few hours as she became comfortable in front of the camera. He even had no hesitation in shaving his head for an important scene. “I told my friends in school that I had shaved during my trip to Tirupati. I didn’t want to leave anything bad,” she says. The experience boosted his confidence. “I walked around wearing a hoodie and I thought I looked good. The funny thing was that when my hair grew back, it naturally fell into the layers of my previously imposed wolf cut.

Sukriti recalls that filming the climax of the film was physically and emotionally difficult. The team had to complete the nine-minute sequence in a single day. The pressure had increased due to the gathering of hundreds of villagers and the threat of rain looming. “I used glycerine first, but within minutes I started crying. I had done crying scenes before, but the climax required close-ups, which was challenging. I remember thinking, ‘If I don’t get this right, what will I do with myself?'” She managed to deliver the scene in one take. As the tension subsided, she noticed that her back was hurting. “My mom reminded me that I was on my knees for this scene, so it was definitely going to hurt,” she says.

After the shooting, Sukriti returned to her normal routine of school and music. For almost two years she continued to wear the same round glasses she had used for the film. During this time, Gandhi and Chettu The film was screened at many festivals and Sukriti received some awards for her performance. “It felt affirming,” she admits.

Looking to the future, Sukriti is unsure whether she will act in the near future. However, she is certain about one thing: she wants to teach music someday. “I want to be a music teacher and work with children,” she says.