Saiee Manjrekar to make Telugu film debut with Adivi Sesh’s ‘Major’

Saiee Manjrekar, who made her acting debut in a lead role with Salman Khan’s Dabangg 3, is now foraying into Telugu cinema. Saiee will play a key role in the upcoming Telugu action thriller Major, which stars Adivi Sesh and Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead roles. The film, which will be made in Hindi as well, is based on the life of NSG commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was martyred in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Talking about being part of the project, Saiee said in a statement: “For me, what matters is the script and the impact the character has in the overall narrative. Once you deep-dive in the dissection of the character, there are so many beautiful emotions that, as an actress, I can explore. This is what I saw in the script of Major, which is why when it was offered to me, I instantly said ‘yes’ to it. I’m open to working down south and this is a bilingual film, shot simultaneously in two languages. I can’t wait to start shooting for the film.”

Saiee will join the sets of the movie next month in Hyderabad. On roping in Saiee for the role, director Sashi Kiran Tikka said, “Casting right is the base for good direction. When we watched her work, we felt that Saiee Manjrekar fit the bill perfectly.”

Honoured and humbled to be telling a story about the fragility of courage in this incredible Hindi-Telugu bilingual film ‘Major’.
It charts the inspiring story of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and the heroes of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks on screen. #MajorTheFilm pic.twitter.com/RkVJJlEnqV

— Sobhita Dhulipala (@sobhitaD) March 2, 2020

In his statement, Sashi also opened up about the circumstances that led to the tragic death of Sandeep Unnikrishnan and how he plans to portray it on screen. “None of us were present when the incident happened. All we know is what was in the news that time. The challenge lies in bringing authenticity to our imagination of what happened in reality; and the pressure lies in showing it in a feature film style rather than a documentary style.”

 

In March, Sobhita Dhulipala revealed that she will also be a part of the project and tweeted: “Honoured and humbled to be telling a story about the fragility of courage in this incredible Hindi-Telugu bilingual film ‘Major’. It charts the inspiring story of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and the heroes of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks on screen.”

Major is produced by Sony Pictures Films India in association with Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu’s GMB Entertainment and A+S Movies. The film is all set for a summer release in 2021.

(Content provided by Digital Native)