An actor who’s always been burdened by expectation or comparisons, an actor who’s still defined by the image and aura of his legendary father – Ram Charan is now trying to break the shackles and do something that’s not only close to his heart, but will also shatter his image as a mass hero (to an extent).
“We cannot be a like a statue in Tank Bund. We cannot depend too much on the image and aura created by previous films (most notably Magadheera). It’s important to keep changing yourself along with the new stories that come your way, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” says Charan. And sure enough, the actor will break away from hero-centric films and an explore a new genre with Dhruva, the Telugu remake of Tamil blockbuster Thani Oruvan.
“There was a bit of tension, especially because this film’s a remake but there was confidence in equal measure since we believe in the content and I’m hoping it will be even better than the original,” he says, optimistically. Tamil star Aravind Swamy will reprise his role as the antagonist in Dhruva, and will be returning to Telugu cinema after nearly two decades.
“I was a bit nervous initially since he’s a senior actor and he has already delivered a hit on the same film in a different language. But he approached it as a new role and the bond we shared was so special that it became difficult to shoot,” Charan shares.
Surender Reddy, the film’s director, had mentioned (perhaps jokingly) that he would never do a remake after Dhruva. Reacting to that, an amused Charan said, “Really? Did he say that (laughs). But jokes aside, remakes are never easy and it does get difficult to handle for the director. Suri, however, had put in a lot of hard work and has done a fabulous job,” says Charan, who’s previous film was Bruce Lee: The Fighter in 2015.
The film was initially scheduled to release in the first week of December, but was postponed after demonetisation.
“At a time when people were running around banks and ATMs, we didn’t think it was appropriate to release the film. Even now, it hasn’t come back to normal but we are reasonably confident that it will not have too big an impact on the film,” Charan observes.
Charan, who’s also producing his father Megastar Chiranjeevi’s comeback film Khaidi No.150, admits that demonetisation has had an impact on the industry.
“I think everybody will admit that it has impacted our lives in one way or another. But we’re all learning to adapt and continue with our work. I’m not carrying `250 with me as pocket money and I think everybody in their own way is adapting to the current situation,” the Magadheera star said. Given that the film is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, there are some concerns among the audience whether a run-time of 150 minutes will be too long to hold their attention. Dispelling such concerns, Charan says, “When the content is strong, the runtime shouldn’t be of too much concern. We have seen the movie and we’re confident that it will hold the attention of the audience right through.”
In a surprisingly indifferent mood, Charan mainly answered through gestures or in small sentences. The actor, whose sporting a six-pack for the film, shares that it was a gruelling experience. “It was certainly a physically challenging role, one of the most I have done in my career so far,” Charan explains.
Up next, the actor will team up with Nannaku Prematho helmer Sukumar for a film. “It will be an entertainer and is completely opposite to Dhruva. I’m waiting for dad’s film to be completed and will then start working on that,” he added.