Sudheer Babu has completed 10 years of being an actor. 'Shiva Manasulo Shruti', his first movie as a male lead, was released on 10 February 2012. In this interview, the 'Sridevi Soda Centre' and 'Sammohanam' actor talks about his journey so far, his evolution as an actor, equations with Mahesh Babu, what he is going to do next, and more.
The actor will next be seen in 'Aa Ammayi Gurinchi Meeku Cheppali', a rom-com starring Krithi Shetty as the heroine.
More than the number of movies I have done and the number of admirers I have earned, it's about the respect I have earned as an actor that matters more to me. Looking back, I am happy that I have given my 100%. Some of my films didn't work, while others worked. The failures taught me valuable lessons. I have learned how to pick scripts in a smart way. Budgets, the technical team must also be considered besides the story.
I always do films consciously thinking that a film's failure might doom my career. Every film is a new learning experience. People say that I am good at action scenes and songs. It doesn't mean I should stick to only my strengths. I have to try out new things. I am happy that I did a couple of bad movies in the early years itself.
On the first day of the shoot, I overheard the cameraman saying on set that Sudheer Babu will find it hard to survive in the film industry. It made me think about what to do next. I gave my best. In retrospect, his negative belief about me motivated me to push myself. Nobody can decide your upper limit and what you can achieve. There are people who laughed at me. Later, they themselves gave me genuine compliments.
I entered the film industry with the sole aim of earning respect for myself. I didn't want to rest on what my father had achieved. I never had a concrete plan to begin with. I have gone ahead by making choices from time to time. Box-office success is what you are judged by in the industry. A BO hit gives you the opportunity to choose from a larger pool of scripts. In a way, I am happy. But there are also occasions when I feel I should have done better.
Maybe, I should have done more action films. I am a big fan of Jackie Chan. I am going to do benchmark action movies. I will be doing a film with actor-writer-director Harshavardhan. 'Loser' (web series) director will be doing a film with me.
I did 'Sammohanam' and 'Prema Katha Chitram' to try out new genres. I started out as a hero but I wanted to prove myself as an actor, too. I did 'Baaghi' in Hindi only because I had a very good role of importance in it. 'Brahmastra' in Hindi came my way. I was offered a negative role. But I couldn't do it because I was busy with 'Sammohanam'. I felt that director Mohankrishna Indraganti garu had the vision to show me in a different way. So, I picked the film.
Mahesh Babu dedicates time to his family. I have learned from him and Superstar Krishna garu how to switch off from work once I am back home. When 'Prema Katha Chitram' was released, Mahesh complimented me saying that I had made it. In the last 10 years, I have never approached Mahesh for any favour. That's a principle I have been adhering to. Filmmakers are respecting my talent and offers are coming my way for the same reason. It's my wish to act with Mahesh provided the story is nice.
I played Badminton professionally before entering films. The Pullela Gopichand biopic is in the pipeline. Over the years, its scale has been getting bigger.
There was a time when I would feel nervous about how I might portray a character. An actor needs to have that fear in mind. Only then an actor will push himself.
I definitely want to do pan-India films. But before that, I have to explore Tollywood. All my movies have been dubbed into Hindi and have been watched by the Hindi audience. Even before 'Baahubali' came out, the movies of Prabhas and SS Rajamouli were being watched by the Hindi audience.
Audiences have become more demanding. You need to be more careful about the movies you do.
It's true that my voice did receive mixed feedback in the initial days. I once approached RP Patnaik garu for suggestions to improve my voice. I followed some of his instructions to fine-tune my voice. I do voice exercises 2-3 days before starting dubbing works.
I frankly want to work with all star directors. But working with new directors gives me a lot of happiness.
Films that I said no to didn't do well in the end. Stories that I liked but couldn't do for some or other reason did very well.
'Aa Ammayi Gurinchi Meeku Cheppali' is going to be better than 'Sammohanam'. It's more fun and more intense.
