Sudhakar Komakula is game for independent and mainstream cinema

Actor Sudhakar Komakula, who got noticed in the recent Telugu films ‘Krack’ and ‘Raja Vikramarka’, talks about juggling diverse genres

Last week’s Telugu action entertainer Raja Vikramarka, featuring Kartikeya Gummakonda in the lead, had actor Sudhakar Komakula essaying a pivotal part as a cop. Earlier this year, Sudhakar was also a part of director Gopichand Malineni’s Krack headlined by Ravi Teja. Neither of these films were in Sudhakar’s scheme of things when he moved to the US for a few months post the release of his 2019 film Nuvvu Thoppu Raa.

Sudhakar had hoped that Nuvvu Thoppu Raa would cement his position as a lead actor and allow him more room to navigate through mainstream and independent cinema. But things took a turn when his friend director Sri Saripalli asked him to be a part of Raja Vikramarka: “Sri is a friend and I was sure he had something special for me. I liked the part and agreed to do it, despite the initial hesitation to take up a supporting character after playing the lead. Nuvvu Thoppu Raa didn’t do as much as we expected it to. In the Telugu film industry, if an actor takes up a supporting role after a solo lead film fails at the box office, it is viewed as a desperate move,” reasons Sudhakar.

When Raja Vikramarka was offered to him in late 2019, the initial plan was to complete it by February-March 2020, but the pandemic resulted in delays. Around the same time, Sudhakar was also offered a part in Krack. Looking back at both these films, Sudhakar reckons that it has been a good move to take them up: “People have appreciated my work in both these films.”