Actor-director Srini returns to his radio roots with ‘On Air’

MG Srinivas aka Srini has just returned from Hyderabad after completing the first leg of shoot for On Air. The actor-director-producer plays an RJ in the film. “A short second leg of the shoot is pending, which will resume as soon as the pandemic situation comes under control,” says Srini, whose last film, Old Monk , which he’s directed and acted in, is yet to be released.

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Playing an RJ on screen was not tough, Srini says as he started his career as an RJ. His show, Blade Raja for 93.5 RED FM, made him a household name. “We took live calls from our listeners. My character in On Air does the same.”

Srini started his acting career with the Kannada film Topiwala (2013), with Real Star Upendra. He has played the leading man in films such as Simply Kailawesome, Srinivasa Kalyana and Birbal Trilogy Case 1 : Finding Vajramuni.

On Air, Srini says, is an experimental thriller. Written and directed by Prashanth Sagar Atluri, the film is produced by Raghuveer Goriparthi and Srujan Yarabolu. The screenplay is by Suma Karthikeya with Varun Ankarla as the DOP and music by Sriram Maddury.

“Working as an RJ in real life gave me the advantage of adding reality to the character. Things like how to handle the console, what a fader is used for, the body language of an RJ while talking to people on air and toggling to get the next song ready, all come with my experinece at the radio station.”

On Air is being made in two languages. Srini plays the lead in the Kannada version. “It is a unique story and the clarity the director Prashanth has brought into the storyhad me recollecting my RJ-ing days.”

He is also working on the horror comedy, Andalamma, where he plays a ghostbuster. “I am super excited about this film as I love horror and comedy and combining the two will just be one great journey. It is still in the scripting stage, once the script is ready, we plan to dive into research to build the characters.”

Now that the filming has taken a backseat again, Srini says he is keeping himself busy penning a thriller, which he plans to direct.