Aadhi Pinisetty has played the antagonist in 'The Warriorr', which was released in theatres on July 14. In this interview, he talks about teaming up with Ram Pothineni and director N Lingusamy.
I am very happy with the response that 'The Warriorr' is getting. After a film like 'Sarrainodu', I was happy to play Pawan Kalyan garu's antagonist in 'Agnyathavaasi'. After that movie, I wanted to do something more significant and therefore rejected some movie offers that came my way. 'The Warriorr' came as the answer from director N Lingusamy garu. Guru has an atypical characterization. He is not an ordinary antagonist.
When I have to say no to a film, I don't mince words. I convey it upfront. I don't like to waste their time and my time. If I feel something doesn't suit me, I say no immediately.
Hero characters have limitations, while the antagonist has got none. Playing Guru in 'The Warriorr' was a great experience! After listening to the director's narration, I asked him a number of doubts. Once he clarified them, I got clarity. If Guru is being talked about by the audience, it is because he has been given a flashback.
I have not played commercial performances ever. Guru is cinematic comemrcial. He enjoys what he does. I just followed the director's instructions because the characterization is quite new to me. He took care of my get-up and dialogue delivery.
I have enjoyed playing lead roles and villainous characters. It's about your conviction. If you play a character with conviction, the audience are going to like it.
The climax fight was like shooting for a song. The chemistry between me and Ram is like that in the climax. The director commented that it was as if we both were dancing. Ram is a great performer. He is a great dancer. The credit goes to action choreographer Anbu Arivu for the effective climax fight.
The scene where Krithi Shetty's character is kidnapped by my character doesn't unfold in a routine manner. In typical actioners, the hero comes, bashes up the villain and rescues the heroine. Here, it doesn't happen like that. From the start, the director was conscious that it had to be told uniquely.
More successful the villain, more successful the hero. SS Rajamouli's movies follow this rule. The mood is sustained by strong villainy, and the hero comes off as the strongest.
The audience are becoming more and more bothered only about the content. They don't mind where the actor is coming from. I am blessed to be doing straight Telugu films at a time like this. Recently, I played a role in 'Modern Love: Hyderabad' (Amazon Prime).
I do discuss my films with my father (Ravi Raja Pinisetty), who comes with vast experience. His experience is precious. More than a father, he judges me and my work as a filmmaker. His feedback is helpful. He usually shares only the negatives so that I learn and grow. 'Jwala', 'Kondapalli Raja', 'Pedarayudu', 'Chanti' are among my favourite movies of his. I have no plans to direct movies because filmmaking is a stressful job; it is both physical and mental. You need to have so much energy to carry out such a tough job. We talk about cinema at home. Cinema is our strength. We brainstorm about cinema but we don't think in commercial terms.
