We aren’t Jumping Jacks

Actor couple Rajashekhar and Jeevitha were recently in the spotlight for their decision to support the Narendra Modi led BJP in the 2014 General Elections. They received severe criticism for changing loyalties and were also termed as “Jumping Jacks”. But they say that there is nothing wrong in what they did. In fact, so confident are the two of Modi’s leadership that they went all the way to Tirupati (where the BJP supremo was campaigning) just to meet him!

Here are excerpts from an interview with the couple where they discuss politics, their upcoming movies and daughter Shivani:

You have changed many parties over the years? Would you stick to BJP now?

Rajashekhar: No. I haven’t changed parties but I have only offered support to most of them. The only time I officially joined a party was Congress and that too as an obligation to YS Rajashekhar Reddy. Even when the public is voting, they would change their mind every time they vote. I would always vouch for the best choice at a point of time.

Jeevitha: I think such things are blown out of proportion by the media. In fact a publication wrote about us and gave the title “Jumping jacks”.

Rajashekhar: Yes. That was disturbing I couldn’t sleep for two days! (laughs) Why would anyone judge us that way? It is our right to change an opinion. I don’t think I have cheated anyone by doing so.

Do you wish to contest in the elections sometime?

Rajashekhar: Jeevitha is already a party worker for BJP. But contesting the elections needs a lot of hard work to be put up. It is a responsibility. I do not know if I will be able to do justice.

Jeevitha: Initially I had considered doing so but a thorough thought into the whole process made us realise that we aren’t ready for it. We have our own way of serving the people.

So how was your meeting with him in Tirupati?

Jeevitha: We shot a song on him and we had the opportunity to let him watch it. He liked it and we are planning to make an English version of it too. Our family also captured a selfie with him (smiles).

Rajashekhar: I wanted to tell him a lot of things. But there were so many people and I didn’t get the opportunity to do so. But I did tell him that there was so much I wanted to say and he asked me to meet him again!

You haven’t been seen in films for a while and now all of a sudden there are three movies in the pipeline. What’s the sudden rush?

Jeevitha: Rajashekhar’s last movie, ‘Mahankali’, put us in a lot of problems. We faced lot of trouble all through the shooting of the film and the woes continued even after its release. He was in no hurry to sign the next but then a chance meeting with Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) made him a part of ‘Patta Pagalu’.

Rajashekhar: Once I became a part of the project, RGV made several changes to it and even added an emotional angle to the story. That’s not his style at all! Have you seen any of his horror flicks have a plethora of emotions in them?

What about the other films?

Rajashekhar: ‘Gaddam Gang’, the remake of Tamil film ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ is another movie I am working on. We are having a lot of fun shooting for the film.

Jeevitha: It is a tried and tested film and will be a sure shot hit in Telugu too. We are very confident about it.

Rajashekhar: The third film is ‘Vanda Ki Vanda’ and our daughter Shivani will be seen in the film. I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about the movie. We will make an announcement soon.