Sandhya Raju’s ‘Ekasekalu’ takes a satirical swipe at Tollywood’s star culture
Streaming platform ETV Win has premiered Ekasekalu, a 50-minute satire on the film industry, written by Raj Kumar Kusuma and directed by Kuchipudi dancer-turned-filmmaker Sandhya Raju.
The film opens with a scene that sets the tone for its mockery of mainstream cinema. Minutes in, a character playing a producer approaches the vanity van of a star. He is stopped by the actor’s assistant, who says the star will step out only if given the right “elevation” — a reference to the hero-worshipping dialogues and shots used to amp up a leading man’s aura.
Soon, crew members idling on set gather to reel off punchlines praising the actor. Even a line as mundane as “box office baboon” is delivered with fanfare. The caravan door is then “forcefully blasted” open to reveal an ageing superstar nicknamed the “blasting star”.
Prudhvi Raj plays the ageing superstar, while Hriday Ranjan appears as the director who watches the spectacle with bemusement.
For Sandhya Raju, Ekasekalu marks her second outing as director and producer. She earlier produced and acted in Natyam (2021), which won National Film Awards for Best Choreography and Best Make-up Artist.
With Ekasekalu, Raju turns her lens to Tollywood’s obsession with star image and on-set theatrics, using humour to highlight how “elevation” has become an industry ritual.
