Video:Drag Me to Hell - Dileep Rao Interview
with Rebecca MurrayDileep Rao plays a seer who tries to assist Alison Lohman in 'Drag Me to Hell,' written and directed by Sam Raimi. Rao's also got another big film in the works: Jim Cameron's 'Avatar.' At the 'Drag Me to Hell' premiere, Rao talked about both movies.
Transcript:Drag Me to Hell - Dileep Rao Interview
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the World Premiere of Role Drag Me to Hell.
Dileep Rao - 'Rham Jas' in Drag Me to Hell
You play a seer in this. Is that what you are?
Dileep Rao: "I do, yeah."
Okay, tell me about getting into that?
Dileep Rao: "Well we decided to research this role and really make it specific instead of just saying it's a stock character of some sort, or a character where people go, 'Oh, it's a fortune teller.' And Sam, I think, didn't want that. I didn't want that. We wanted to work on a level of real research, complete understanding of very specific subject matter. So I did a lot of research, read a lot of books, went to some really interesting bookstores, got all this really weird material. Sat down and read it all and then really got to an understanding of a place where who's this guy, what's his history, why did he study this stuff, why does he know this stuff, you know? And then it made it a much more interesting job to do because my character's informing Christine, played by Alison Lohman, what's happening to her. And it felt like it was grounded in some reality through research of real research and understanding on my part, and it made the whole thing a lot more authentic as an on set experience."
That makes sense. What was the most important thing you found in all that research that really did affect how you played it?
Dileep Rao: "Well I think that you realize that there's a tremendous number of people in the world who believe in a lot of really obscure beliefs and things that you and I might think, 'What is that?' And the more you research it, the more specific you find that their beliefs and their systems are, and the more you treat that with kind of a mutual respect, the greater the chance you have to buy into something like this and give it an authentic performance. So that for me was really important about the research."
Did anything rub off on you where now you believe things that you didn't believe before?
Dileep Rao: "You know, I think... That's a really funny question. I think I believe a little bit in the power of people to really cast a bad energy on you if they want to. If the bad mojo wants to come your way, look out."
And Sam Raimi returning to horror after all these years, what's he like on the set?
Dileep Rao: "First of all he is one of the kindest, grandest, most gentle men ever. But he's also a visionary genius, and that's not a thing to be thrown about lightly. He can see the picture in a way that you can't while you're shooting it. You do your job, you see what he does with it, and it goes in a way that you can have such great faith in him. He's a real leader. He leads through kindness and a real respect for everyone's craft, but there's no question that his vision's leading us all the way."
Well, you also worked with Jim Cameron on Avatar - talk about another visionary director.
Dileep Rao: "I mean he's also a visionary genius. I don't say that about everybody, but he absolutely... I think if you look at Sam Raimi and Jim Cameron, those guys know things about filmmaking that almost nobody knows anymore. They are students of film from when they handmade films themselves, you know cut films with their own hands and razor blades and tape. And I think they're so in charge of making really strong, story-driven films but they're also wizards of the technology that makes these films possible. The kind of discipline they bring to their work, the real depth of the knowledge and the foresight... I mean these guys see into the editing bay what they're shooting with the effects when they're with you and maybe a prop, and that's the gig - as Jim once said. And I think they both have that gig down cold."
What can you say about Avatar? Have you seen anything?
Dileep Rao: "I can't say anything. I'm in it, Jim directed it, I'm not going to say anything. When a man works that hard, you respect his work and you let it be what it is. I can only say it is going to blow your mind."