Pushpa: Not Jagadeesh, this actor was Sukumar’s first choice for the role of Keshava

Sukumar’s Pushpa: The Rise, starring Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil in the lead roles, is among the most celebrated Telugu films. And while Jagadeesh Bandari might be known for his role of Keshava, Pushpa Raj’s confidante, the director’s first choice was a surprising one.

‘I wanted to cast Suhas’

Talking at the teaser launch of actor Suhas’ new film Prasanna Vadanam, Sukumar revealed that Jagadeesh wasn’t his first choice for the role of Keshava. He said, “Bunny (Allu) likes Suhas a lot, and we often talk about you. He was our first choice to play Keshava in Pushpa. You might wonder why we didn’t cast him then. We found out that he was signing films as a lead, so we thought it would be wrong to rope him in for this role.”

He also compared Suhas to Nani, stating, “I like Nani a lot, I like his performances. We have all seen how Nani grew in his career, and I feel Suhas is growing similarly. He will be the future Nani. If Nani is called a natural actor, Suhas should be called a rooted one. I’ve seen him grow, and he performs so organically.” Sukumar’s second installment in the Pushpa franchise, Pushpa 2: The Rule is slated for release on August 15 this year.

Suhas’ recent work

Suhas grew to fame for his roles in films like Naveen Polishetty’s Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, Naga Chaitanya’s Majili and Vijay Deverakonda’s Dear Comrade. He debuted as a lead actor with the 2020 film Colour Photo, which also saw Chandini Chowdary and Sunil as the leads.

He played the antagonist for the first time in the 2021 film Family Drama, which was released directly on SonyLIV and later in Adivi Sesh’s 2022 film HIT: The Second Case. He was recently seen in Ambajipeta Marriage Band and Sriranga Neethulu, released this year. Apart from Prasanna Vadanam, he has Cable Chary, Anandrao Adventures and Gorre Puranam lined up.