Inside ‘Dacoit’: Shaneil Deo on directing Adivi Sesh and crafting the film

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would direct a Telugu film,” says director Shaneil Deo. As Dacoit, his Telugu-Hindi directorial debut, released in theatres last week, he calls the journey “humbling.”

Born in the Fiji Islands, Shaneil moved to the US with his family at 10. “The Hindi we speak at home is closer to Fiji Hindustani, with influences from different Indian languages. Telugu was entirely new when I began working in Hyderabad, now I understand about 60–70% of conversations,” he says.