{"id":571223,"date":"2026-03-24T18:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/?p=571223"},"modified":"2026-03-24T18:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:02:10","slug":"rakasa-movie-director-manasa-sharma-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/rakasa-movie-director-manasa-sharma-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOur Film Is a Theatrical Experience Driven by Visuals and Folklore, Like Chandamama Katha Blended With Stylised Technology and Comedy\u201d: Manasa Sharma on Rakasa"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cOur Film Is a Theatrical Experience Driven by Visuals and Folklore, Like Chandamama Katha Blended With Stylised Technology and Comedy\u201d: Manasa Sharma on Rakasa<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
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Riding on growing digital traction and strong pre-release buzz, Rakasa is steadily emerging as a distinctive genre-driven entertainer. Headlined by Sangeeth Sobhan and Nayan Sarika, and produced by Niharika Konidela under Pink Elephant Pictures in collaboration with Zee Studios, the film marks the feature directorial debut of Manasa Sharma. Positioned as a fantasy adventure comedy rooted in folklore and powered by stylised visuals and evolving technology, the project has drawn attention for its unique tonal blend. Ahead of the trailer release, director Manasa Sharma interacted with print media, sharing insights into the film\u2019s concept, making and her journey.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Can you tell us about your background?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Rakasa is my debut feature film. I made a Bench Life web series, and I was the creator and writer of Oka Chinna Family Story. I\u2019m a post graduate and I\u2019m from Srikakulam.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: So this is your third project?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> No, fourth. I made the Mad House series in 2018 on YouTube, then Bench Life, Oka Chinna Family Story, and now RakasA.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Is this a majorly comedy film?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> It is a fantasy adventure comedy.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Horror?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Well, you might presume that from the teaser, but after seeing the trailer releasing tomorrow, you\u2019ll get more context. The film majorly is a fantasy but blended it with comedy and crafted a good story. Horror acts as a tool element, that\u2019s all.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: So Rakasa means?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma: <\/span>Devil.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Male or Female?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Again, you\u2019ll get more context once you see the trailer tomorrow.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Sangeeth mentioned he wasn\u2019t the first choice.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Well, it was not prepared for anyone specific. I went to the Netflix office for a meeting and when they asked for a genre specific plot, I shared this line. I was working on another idea with Sangeeth which was a fantasy adventure. When he asked about my meeting with Netflix, I said it went well and shared the line. He got interested and I decided to go ahead with the theatrical.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What were your challenges as a debutant director?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Since I already made Bench Life which has 5 episodes, I never faced any difficulties regarding production or any such. The process is almost the same. But that is OTT and theatrical is different because everything falls upon the producers. So the responsibility factor was more for this project. I just want Niharika gaaru and Pink Elephant Pictures to be happy with this.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: How did you impress Niharika?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> It\u2019s the story that impressed her. We were already associated with each other and my previous projects Bench Life and Oka Chinna Family Story gathered good response. So within the 15\u201320 minutes of narration only, we were on board.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Did you choose Nayan because of your previous collaboration?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Nayan is actually a director\u2019s actress. You can see the variation of her performances in her previous projects and even in Rakasa it varies significantly from Bench Life. She is a great performer and that is the only reason we took her for Rakasa. She was perfect and apt.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Was it done within the budget?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma: <\/span>Yeah, I mean for every project it goes up and down 10% but ours was within the budget and the producers are happy.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: The project is said to be costly. How did you handle it as a debutant?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Compared to our previous projects as a team, yes, it is a higher budget. But my gut was that me and my co-writer Mahesh have a good credibility on OTT because of our previous projects and it shall be safe on OTT. Even during the shoot our first priority was to make sure the budget shall not be crossed at any cost because there are VFX scenes too. So we were very agile and conscious throughout the shoot.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Many recent films are mood and genre-based. How does this differ?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma: <\/span>I appreciate all those movies, but for sure ours is an entirely theatre film and the trailer releasing tomorrow proves that. The visuals and the certain stuff are meant for theatrical experience. And 90% of the story is fictional, the comedy and other things, but the core point is from our folklore. Like mixing Chandamama Katha with a stylistic technology adding comedy to it is what this film is.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: We heard that Nagababu gaaru gave a book to Niharika and she gave that to you?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma: <\/span>No, this is completely my own writing and creation. I don\u2019t know from where you heard that information.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What work has gone into VFX?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> I was put in contact with major VFX artists by Pink Elephant Pictures right from day one and when I met a few and narrated the plot, Murali gaaru felt close to this story. His ideas and inputs were very apt for the plot. He worked for this and his entire team has done a great work. We had an on-set supervisor throughout the shoot and that helped us make everything without errors and not crossing the budget.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Why did you choose Sangeeth for this role?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> We choose actors not just by past works but also on performances, mannerism and all that really suit our character. Sangeeth was the best fit.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Who is your inspiration?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> B. Vittalacharya gaaru. I was grown on his films.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: VFX usually takes more time. How did you complete it quickly?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> The second half is high on VFX so we shot that first so that VFX work gets completed on time. We shot that and sent it to them. While they were working it, parallelly we were shooting the first half.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Why choose fantasy for your debut?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Well unfortunately that is limited to our industry but outside like in Hollywood there aren\u2019t any such. So this idea came up and I proceeded with it.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What was Niharika\u2019s involvement?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> The huge plus of working with Pink Elephant Pictures is that they have a very strong production team. We completed Oka Chinna Family Story in nine months and even Committee Kurrollu released in one year. I wanted to release the project in a year and the Pink Elephant team were quite great with it. Niharika gaaru is a very good producer. She knows the balance right from creative involvement to director\u2019s freedom to production care and values.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What about Sangeeth\u2019s creative contribution?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> He\u2019s just a kid with 2\u20133 films old. The creative decision comes only after the whole team involvement and discussions. So as a team we exchanged ideas and discussed various aspects but he is a very conscious actor.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Can you talk about the art work?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> It is done by Ramanjaneyulu. Because it\u2019s entirely based on my imagination, from the start itself we discussed what and how we can do and with the evolved technology I was able to give my idea more clearly to the art team. So it was quite a smooth process. Ramanjaneyulu is the production designer and Vishnu Vardhan is the art director. Both of them did great work.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Is it going to be a new experience?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> I wouldn\u2019t say it is completely new because the core point or other factors one might have heard somewhere. But the drive of the plot, characters, narrative and screenplay\u2014that\u2019s new.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: How did you choose the music director?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> I approached them with a list that had my choice of crew and that opened the discussion. Along with budget constraints there are date clashes and schedules too. But I was familiar with Anudeep Dev and his work and knew him personally. So we went ahead with him and his work reflected our confidence.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: When are you showing it to Ram Charan gaaru?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> That\u2019s in Niharika gaaru\u2019s hands.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What are your future projects?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Most of them are fantasy related. Hopefully they all pan out with Rakasa.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: What\u2019s the runtime?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Censor is yet to be done.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Why B. Vittalacharya as inspiration?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> Because of my grandmother I saw all his films and they generated curiosity and excitement in me. He did all those wonders at that time without any VFX and that is the reason I got inspired by him.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Q: Will you explore more folklore films?<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Manasa Sharma:<\/span> To an extent Rakasa falls under that category. Hopefully I venture more into such.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The promotional campaign for Rakasa has been generating strong digital traction, with the title glimpse crossing 1.9 million views, the teaser surpassing 3 million views, and all three singles\u2014\u201cRapappa,\u201d \u201cPadhe Padhe,\u201d and \u201cSnake Dance\u201d, crossing the million mark. Headlined by Sangeeth Sobhan and Nayan Sarika, alongside Vennela Kishore, Brahmaji, Tanikella Bharani, Ashish Vidyarthi and Getup Srinu, the film brings together a vibrant ensemble, with music by Anudeep Dev, cinematography by Raju Edurolu, and editing by Anwar Ali.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Blending fantasy, folklore, stylised technology and comedy into a visually driven theatrical experience, Rakasa is set for its worldwide theatrical release on April 3, 2026<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cOur Film Is a Theatrical Experience Driven by Visuals and Folklore, Like Chandamama Katha Blended With Stylised Technology and Comedy\u201d: Manasa Sharma on Rakasa   Riding on growing digital traction and strong pre-release buzz, Rakasa is steadily emerging as a distinctive genre-driven entertainer. Headlined by Sangeeth Sobhan and Nayan Sarika, and produced by Niharika Konidela […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":571224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,17],"tags":[70131,662,70012,70132,70017],"yst_prominent_words":[55397,24075,41877,55396,55388,10086,60746],"read":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":571227,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571223\/revisions\/571227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571223"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/industryhit.com\/t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=571223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}