Hanu Raghavapudi on casting Imanvi opposite Prabhas in Fauji: ‘What tilted the balance was her eyes…’

Hanu Raghavapudi opened up about his choice of casting social media star and dancer Imanvi in the big-ticket Prabhas film, which is set in the 1940s.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | August 20, 2024 09:33 PM IST

3 min read

Hanu Raghavapudi on why he cast Imanvi in Prabhas film.

It is not easy to be the cynosure of all eyes when it is a Prabhas film launch, and you are not… Prabhas. But that’s exactly what happened at the pooja of the Salaar actor’s next with Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavapudi. The movie, which is tentatively referred to as Fauji, also marks the acting debut of Imanvi, a social media sensation. Her followers count has been rapidly increasing, and the dancer is coming to terms with the stardom associated with being in a film starring Prabhas.

In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, the filmmaker opened up about his choice of casting Imanvi in the big-ticket Prabhas film. “Social media is a good and easy tool to find new talent. Many industry people don’t know how to reach the right talent, but definitely, social media helps filmmakers choose suitable actors to play the characters they have created,” said Hanu, who swears by the talent of the social media star.

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“Imanvi is very pretty and talented. Like everyone else, I too watched her dance videos. She’s a great Bharatanatyam dancer. But what tilted the balance was her eyes. She has very expressive, speaking eyes, and I thought I would give her a shot,” said Hanu, who revealed that zeroing in on Imanvi was a collective decision of the team, including Prabhas, and she was selected after audition and screen tests. Calling it “a role which many can only dream of,” Hanu believes it is lucky that the Delhi-born and LA-bred actor is getting to make her debut opposite Prabhas.

Here’s the post announcing the launch of the film:

The film, which is set in the 1940s, is speculated to be about an Indian soldier in the British Army, played by Prabhas. However, Hanu Raghavapudi dismissed it all, and said that the only right thing about it all is that this would be a period film. Talking about how Prabhas has the ability to oscillate between a futuristic Kalki and a blast-in-the-past movie like his, Hanu said, “He is an actor who all filmmakers dream of to take their story forward.”

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The Prabhas-Hanu project also stars Mithun Chakraborty and Jayaprada in pivotal roles. With cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee, and music by Vishal Chandrasekhar, the film is backed by Mythri Movie Makers.

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