His dreams came true when Kamal Haasan approached him for the ambitious Marmayogi.
Although the project fel l through, Venkatesh and Kamal decided to act together in another film - Eenadu, a remake of the Hindi movie A Wednesday.
As the film is gearing up for release on September 18, Venkatesh shares his experiences with Kamal Haasan.
About Eenadu
Eenadu ushers in a new trend in Tollywood. I am sure people who have been waiting for good films will like it.
Star image
The original was a good film and it tasted success too but it could not reach to the C and B centres because it did not have stars.
With Kamal and I on board, we might achieve the goal. That was the whole point of us coming together.
Apprehensions
I had my own reservations and initially when Kamal suggested this film, I didn't show much interest. One reason was that I wanted to do both the versions - Telugu and Tamil. But Kamal insisted on taking in Mohan Lal for the Tamil version.
And before that we planned to remake it in Telugu in which I was to do both the roles So I was reluctant to do Eenadu.
But Kamal insisted on it and told me that it was high time I jump into the experimentation mould. “You ought to accept this Venky. Don't hesitate.”
Bond
Kamal is an incomparable actor because he did such great films and great characters. Look at the range of films that he has done in the last 50 years. Has any actor, anywhere in the world attempted such roles? He makes actors like me feel ashamed of the roles we play.