Director duo Dharma Raksha's double 'action'

Identical twins, Dharma and Raksha could well be the first ever twin brother director duo of Telugu cinema. And they make quite a sight together on the sets of their maiden film, Chandamama Raave featuring Naveen Chandra in the lead. On sets though, people still seem to get confused, they confess, recalling a funny incident from the sets of Uday Kiran's 2002 film Sreeram.'We were both working as assistant directors then. I went to Anita to brief her for a scene. Soon after, Raksha went to explain another one. She really got confused. We were shooting at midnight on the Vizag beach when Anita saw us both walking in from different sides and freaked out. She ran out screaming, thinking she'd seen something paranormal,' recalls Dharma, laughing.
The 35-year-olds are used to being mistaken for each other from the time they were in primary school in their native village, Nandikotkur, Kurnool. After graduating from Kurnool town, Dharma who is elder to Raksha by 10 minutes moved to Hyderabad with the aim of becoming a filmmaker. 'Growing up in Kurnool, the love for Telugu cinema was ingrained in our blood. We were die hard movie buffs. But it was when our elder sister told us that it is a director who brings a film alive onscreen that we got thinking. And we eventually decided to try our hand at direction,' recalls Raksha, who relocated to Hyderabad following his brother's footsteps.
All the confusion notwithstanding, having your twin brother as your alter-ego sure seems to have its share of advantages. 'Both of us think alike. Since childhood, we have had similar tastes. For instance, we liked the same things in the films we'd watch together. We have a similar vision for films and even without talking to each other, we can figure what's running on the other's mind,' says Dharma. Raksha adds, 'It was only natural that we chose to work together.'
How the duo adopted their screen name, Dharma Raksha, which is an acronym for their real names Dharma Kshetra and Dharma Raksha, makes for an interesting story. Back in 2008, they were supposed to direct Raktha Charithra. In fact Ram Gopal Varma had even announced that he would be presenting the film which will be directed by debutant director duo Dharma Raksha. 'RGV sir felt that Dharma Raksha had a nice ring to it,' recalls Dharma. Eventually, RGV went on to direct the film himself, but the twins chose to keep the name. And, looks like we're going to be hearing about them a lot in the future.