Sreeleela is all excited for her big release this Friday, the Ravi Teja-starrer Dhamaka. “There’s excitement on the outside, but inside, I am a bundle of nerves,” she says. Having debuted with last year’s Pelli SandaD, she acknowledges that being launched as a quintessential Telugu heroine in the K Raghavendra Rao venture helped her find footing as a lead actor, despite the mixed reviews the film was met with. “I think the film was a great launch package for me as an actor. I was lucky that Raghavendra Rao guru launched me. The songs by Sekhar master and my characterisation were all value additions.”
Although Dhamaka marks Sreeleela’s first collaboration with director Trinadha Rao Nakkina, their association began much earlier. “Actually, I was offered a role in Hello Guru Prema Kosame (2018), but couldn’t take it up due to other commitments. But within ten minutes of Dhamaka’s narration, I agreed to do the film. Although they insisted I listen to the entire story, I was sure by then that I had to do the film,” shares Sreeleela, adding that the entertainment value is the X-factor of Dhamaka. “I listen to scripts from the point of view of a fan and seek entertainment in them. From that perspective, I loved the script of Dhamaka as it was loaded with humour.”
Speaking about working with Ravi Teja, Sreeleela reveals that she was intimidated by his stardom but eventually eased out in a course of time. “Truth be told, I was initially quite nervous about my second film because it was the first time that I was paired opposite a mass hero like Ravi Teja guru. Even if I had doubts, I would hesitate to ask. However, he made me feel comfortable and instilled confidence to perform at ease,” she shares, adding that the filming of Dhamaka is filled with many memorable experiences.
Recalling one such experience, Sreeleela explains, “While filming the ‘Jinthaak Chithaka’ song abroad, the suitcase carrying my costumes went missing. Once the team was informed about the conundrum, our director and DoP Karthik Gattamneni travelled for two to three hours to buy new costumes for me. They sought all the details over the phone and sent pictures so I could choose them. This was very sweet of them. Such things were only done by my family for me. That is when I understood that the team was like my family.”
Sreeleela, who is currently pursuing MBBS, feels that the demarcation between her acting and education keeps her balanced and grounded. “Since I am still studying, once I go into that zone, I switch off from my acting side and it offers me the much-needed balance. This balance also helps me deliver better performances,” she says.
So how does she strike a balance? “Just like how students go and pursue other hobbies—like dancing or sports—in the latter half of the day, once I am done with filming, I go home and study. I really enjoy the whole process.”
Sreeleela’s upcoming filmography looks quite happening with a slew of big-ticket projects lined up, such as the Balakrishna film, directed by Anil Ravipudi, the Boyapati Sreenu-Ram Pothineni project, a Vakkantham Vamsi directorial starring Nithiin, a film headlined by Panjaa Vaishnav Tej and Mahesh Babu’s next, directed by Trivikram.
“I am quite grateful for all the opportunities coming my way. I think it’s too early to talk about other projects and I believe the teams of other films might get angry if I talk about other films while promoting Dhamaka! It’s all about Dhamaka now,” she says with a beaming smile. “I think I really tried to match up to Ravi Teja guru’s energy and comic timing on-screen and it’s all up to the audience now to give their verdict about our work on December 23,” she signs off.