Actor Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas talks about his upcoming film Bhairavam, how he roped in the other two stars, future projects, and how he selects stories.
Suresh Kavirayani
sureshkavirayani@gmail.com
After a four-year gap, Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas is coming up with a Telugu film titled Bhairavam. Directed by Vijay Kanakamedala, the film is hitting the screens on May 30. “I wanted to do a rural drama, and a good one. At that time, I got this Bhairavam story. I feel this story is a good one to connect with the audience as it has all the commercial ingredients and is also emotional,” said Bellamkonda about his film.
The actor said that he is known as a commercial actor as he delivered a few hits earlier. He also did a few stylish films, but he wanted to connect with the mass audience, so he chose this rural film. “With Bhairavam, I feel that I relate to everyone and I feel Vijay Kanakamedala is the best to do this remake like a straight Telugu film. I also did some remakes earlier and have experience with them. He changed a lot to suit the Telugu nativity, and I am confident that this film will definitely enthrall the audience,” said Bellamkonda.
Talking about the other two actors, Nara Rohit and Manchu Manoj, Bellamkonda said that they finalized the cast in just three to four days. “When I heard this story, the first person we thought about was Nara Rohit, who looks innocent. We approached him, and he immediately accepted it. And then we saw Manoj’s Mirai poster and approached him. He liked the story and that’s how we all started,” said Bellamkonda.
He added that he didn’t select Aditi Shankar because she is Shankar’s daughter. “She is pure talent, and our director Vijay had seen her film and roped her in. She is a dancer, singer, and actor. She is multi-talented, vibrant, and energetic,” he said about Aditi.
Talking about himself and the other two actors, Srinivas said that all of them are coming back after a gap. “I nearly took a four-year gap, Manoj has had a long gap, and even Nara Rohit is coming back after a break. So, this film feels like a fresh casting and I feel that everyone will like it,” he said.
Srinivas added that the Tamil film was released only in Tamil on OTT. “We requested them not to stream the Telugu version. We gave a new treatment to the same story, so even if you watch the Tamil version, you will still feel Bhairavam is a completely new film,” said Srinivas.
The actor said that compared to his earlier films, the big challenge in this one was playing emotions. “Emotions are impactful and subtle, and at the same time, it is a very thin line. Balancing the emotions is a tough task, so it was challenging for me. I learned a lot from this film about how to play emotions in a subtle way,” said Bellamkonda.
Srinivas said that when someone approaches him, he first listens to the story. “Then I take it to my father (Bellamkonda Suresh), who is experienced and also gives good judgment. I personally like to do films that give a good theatre experience, because I grew up watching those kinds of films,” said the actor. He added that he wants to give something new with each film.
It’s nearly a four-year break for Bellamkonda Srinivas. “My passionate project is Hyndava, which I okayed three years back. Then comes Tyson Naidu, and I didn’t want to do any other film before completing these two projects. But unexpectedly, in between, Bhairavam and Kishkindhapuri came, and now Bhairavam is hitting the screens. After three months, the other film will release,” said Srinivas about his projects.
In response to another question, the actor said that he always works on any film as if it were his first film. “Now, I am coming back after four years, so this is a fresh one for me and I treated it like my first film. I enjoy the process and approach every film with the same kind of hard work and dedication,” he said.
Talking about his lineup, he said his films are different from each other. “If you look at Bhairavam, then Kishkindhapuri, followed by Hyndava and Tyson Naidu — they are all different from each other,” said the actor.
