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Sitting in a makeup chair at 4 a.m. every morning for five grueling hours might sound like torture to most actors, but for Indian star Satyadev, it became an unexpected journey of self-discovery. The intensive daily routine was necessary to transform him into the title character of “Rao Bahadur,” Venkatesh Maha’s upcoming psychological drama that explores how doubt can consume and destroy.

“All my films, I never have makeup. I always used to do characters which are rooted and not heavy makeup intensive,” Satyadev tells Variety. “My makeup artist used to take, like, 10 minutes max. And I’m kind of a very… I can’t sit for so long. Then the universe gives you something which you’re not comfortable with, always. It wants to test you.”

The film, which spans three decades from the 1960s to 1990, required the actor to undergo 10 different look tests to perfect his character’s evolution through time. The makeup team had to elevate his cheekbones, reshape his eyebrows, add prosthetic elements including a substantial belly for later sequences, and craft the intricate facial hair that defines the aristocratic Rao Bahadur.

“By the time we used to shoot in mid summer, it was very hot … the makeup and the mustache and everything is going to irritate you to the core,” he explains. “But this five hours of self-reflection which I used to do to myself used to set me right for the next 12 hours.”

The project represents a reunion between Satyadev and director Maha, who previously collaborated on “Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya.” Maha, acclaimed for “C/o Kancharapalem,” spent four years developing “Rao Bahadur” before bringing it to the actor. The film explores the Telugu concept of doubt as a demon – following how a small seed of suspicion can grow into something massive and destructive.

“The first instance when I heard it, I knew that people are going to get taken aback by the Rao Bahadur role,” Satyadev says. “It will grow on you. It will pull you into that world. You can’t get out of it.”

The project gained significant momentum when popular actor Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar’s GMB Entertainment came aboard as presenters, working alongside producers A+S Movies and SriChakraas Entertainments. For Satyadev, the backing represents validation of the film’s global potential.

“When they presented it to Mahesh-sir, he immediately accepted it,” he reveals. “This exactly aligned with our dream of taking it global or taking it to a larger audience. Someone as big as Mahesh-sir, what he can do for the film is unmatched.”

The actor has built a reputation for taking on morally complex characters rather than traditional heroic roles, working mainly in Telugu-language productions. His diverse filmography includes the breakout hit “Bluff Master,” supporting roles in major productions like “Kingdom” and “Ram Setu,” where he played a crucial supporting role alongside Akshay Kumar in the Bollywood action-adventure film about an archaeologist investigating a legendary bridge.

“Even that character I just did. I didn’t want to have regret in life,” he says about “Ram Setu.” “When it got released on Oct. 25, 2022, the calls that I got from the north [Indian] circuit — I never got those many calls from my own language. Everyone was calling me, congratulating me.”

That experience reinforced his belief that Indian cinema is transcending traditional regional boundaries. “I think it’s transitioning to Indian film industry, which gives us a bigger footprint in global cinema,” he observes. “It’s now an Indian film industry. It’s no more Telugu or Tamil or Kannada.”

Satyadev credits the “Baahubali” franchise with breaking barriers that allowed films like the Telugu-language “Pushpa,” Kannada-language “Kantara” and Malayalam-language “Manjummel Boys” to find pan-Indian success. “People started believing that we can cater to a larger audience if we are true to our storytelling. It doesn’t depend upon the budget – it’s the storytelling and if you put your heart into it.”

The actor’s philosophy extends to his project choices, where he prioritizes stories that won’t leave him with regrets. “There’s only one thing – I shouldn’t have a regret thinking that I should have done this,” he explains. “I don’t want to have that regret in life.”

“Rao Bahadur” demanded extensive location work, with the team shooting for 35 days in palaces in Madanapalle to achieve an authentic 1960s atmosphere. The attention to detail extended beyond makeup to costume design and set decoration, reflecting the production’s ambitious scope.

“We just wanted to make sure, right from the day when we started off the film, we know we are catering to a bigger audience,” Satyadev says. “We never restricted ourselves saying that let’s give the best product, and let’s not have any boundaries. Let’s cater to every audience possible.”

“‘Rao Bahadur’ is like a platter for an actor especially… where you have everything. The performance, the story, the setting, the art, everything combined. It’ll be talked about for ages for what the film is about,” he adds.

With “Rao Bahadur” targeting a summer 2026 release with international subtitled distribution, Satyadev continues building his diverse portfolio. He has Sharan Koppisetty’s crime comedy “Full Bottle” completing post-production for an October release, an action drama with director Ajay Nag, and another project with debutant filmmaker Lakshmi in various stages of production.

“We have to give that extra thing for the audience because they have to see something big,” he says of the current theatrical landscape. “The world has to be totally interesting for them to come into the theaters and watch it.”

The first footage of “Rao Bahadur” debuted on Monday — watch below.