There are truly unique actors like Venkatesh and Mahesh Babu who take their acting career to the next level by choosing characters like Peddodu & Chinnodu in the recently released ‘Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu’. With his brilliant performance in emotional scenes alongside Mahesh Babu in the film, Venkatesh made the world a better place. Directed by Srikanth Addala, this Dil Raju’s feel good family entertainer - emotionally, artistically and narratively gave a beautiful experience to the viewers. SVSC opened to theaters on January 11th as Sankranti gift and got positive reactions from audiences. On this occasion Venkatesh took some time out to talk about his shooting experiences, about the film’s success and his future projects with the media. Here are some excerpts:
Venkatesh started off the chit-chat like this: “I consider ‘Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu’ movie as a good start in 2013. It’s a clean
family entertainer for this Sankranti. This multi-starrer movie which has come after 25 years is sure to create a new trend. I also believe that this movie will be a role model for many. Only new directors and writers will think different and come out with stories like this. The audience from all segments have watched and enjoyed the film. Many of them who haven’t been to theaters for years are also showing interest to watch this film. My friends who never commented on my earlier films also called me over phone and appreciated the film.”
Were there any challenges in sharing your screen space with Mahesh Babu?
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Mahesh. I used to eagerly wait for him on the shooting locations whenever I had a scene with him. Both of us never had ego feelings while working for this film. The characters in this film have already been done by big stars in other languages and I’m sure they would have done it without any ego feeling. Those who saw Mahesh and me together on the sets, have commented that we looked like real brothers.
About superstar Krishna’s comments on the film he said, “Superstar Krishna garu watched the film and complimented me over the phone. His comments are like sweet memories to me. He appreciated saying that I excelled in emotional scenes and that Mahesh and I appeared like real brothers. According to him, the scene where I ask Mahesh ‘Poolakundi enduku tannavu ra….’, scene where I called Anjali as “Sita” for the first time, Kota Srinivasa Rao’s dialogues in the hospital, climax scenes and Prakash Raj’s character are all remarkable.
How did you manage to do emotionally effective scenes in this film?
That’s with my experience in my previous films. All scenes were shot in one or two shots only. We can’t perform emotional scenes as and when we can. The feelings should come out naturally and that’s possible unless we live the story, imagining as if it was really happening.
How is your personality similar to your character?
When it comes to my character in the film, it’s my brother Suresh Babu’s character (in real life) which I portrayed in this film. He is a quiet person and talks less. We are also addressed as Peddodu and Chinnodu by our father in real life.
How did other artists get involved with the film?
Prakash Raj, Jayasudha and Rohini Hattangadi as grandma were just amazing and cannot be commented. Rao Ramesh was so natural. His dialogue delivery was wonderful. I even liked Mahesh-Samantha combination.
Were there any challenges in choosing Anjali for the title role?
Many have criticized for choosing a new girl opposite me, that too in title role. However, being a Telugu girl, I feel Anjali is apt for that role.
Did you ever doubt the director’s ability to carry this family drama with two big stars?
The best thing I liked about him was that he directed the film considering Mahesh and me as two characters instead of stars heroes. He stuck to his script till the end and that confidence in him has immensely impressed me. He crafted the movie better than what he had narrated. The audience too enjoyed the film watching us on screen as brothers and not stars. Even my son Arjun liked it a lot.
About the progress of his forth-coming film ‘Shadow’ he informed: “Shadow is an action revenge drama in which I’ll be seen stylishly. Shooting is almost done except for a song and a scene. This movie will entertain the mass as well as family audience. The producer is planning to release it in April.”
What’s next?
My next film would be the remake of ‘Bol Bachchan’ in hero Ram’s combination. I’m playing a manly character with a mix of entertainment in this film. The script-work for another film ‘Vivekananda’ has also been completed. The details of both films will be announced shortly.
Lastly, what do you hope on Dil Raju’s making a movie with Gautham (Mahesh Babu’s son) and Arjun (Venkatesh’s son)?
Producer Dil Raju works with good planning. He also chooses good stories. He had put in lot of efforts to make this multi-starrer movie. We can’t predict the trend. But I’m sure films with stories of this genre will come in near future. About his making a movie with Gautham and Arjun is dependent on their mind-set after they are grown-ups.
