Hyderabad
Ocober 10, 2006

GK Reddy produced films like SP Parasuram, M Dharmaraju MA and many more in Telugu and Tamil languages. His son Vishal made his debut as hero in 2004 with Chellame which was a success. His next two films Sandakozhi and Thimiru turned out to be winners at box office. Pandem Kodi - Telugu dubbed version of Sandakozhi - is a hit in Telugu too. Now Thimiru is being dubbed and released in Telugu as ‘Pogaru’ on 13th of this month with 100 prints. Idlebrain.com met with Vishal on this occasion for chitchat. Here are the excerpts -

What is the secret of your success?
The script. The directors made sure that they prepared the scripts that suited my body language. As an actor I had a steady growth. My first film was a romantic film. The second one is action film.

Whose idea is it to make you a hero?
I wanted to become a director. I graduated in visual communications as I wanted to go into technical aspects of filmmaking. I worked as an assistant director for a couple of films directed by Arjun. But dad wanted me to become a hero. I did not have any idea of becoming hero. I became hero in the insistence of my father.

Being a Telugu guy who delivered three consecutive hits in Tamil, don’t you have any plans of doing a straight film?
I am interested in doing a straight Telugu film. I dubbed voice for all the three Telugu dubbing films. I will be doing a bilingual film in Telugu and Tamil. Later on I will do a straight Telugu film.

What do you think are your strengths?
Patience is my strength. I can wait for a good script. After my first movie there was a gap of 15 months. I waited patiently for an exciting script of Pandem Kodi. Lot of people told me that it is suicidal to have a break of more than a year in the beginning of the career. I also look at films from audience perspective and try to gauge which scripts would work.

Are you branding yourself as action hero?
I don’t have any set of rules. I choose the best out of what I listen. I don’t want to confine to any genre.

How much did each of your films collected in Tamil Nadu?
Chellame (Prema Chadarangam) ran for 200 days. It was made with a budget of 3 and half crores and collected a share of 6 crores. Sandakozhi (Pandemkodi) was made with a budget of 6 crores and collected more than 10 crores. Thimiru (Pogaru) is made with a budget of 6 crores and it already collected 6 crores in few weeks. This film is expected to collect more than Sandakozhi. Everybody made money on these three films.

What is your dream role?
I want to play supernatural hero roles like Superman and Spiderman.

Who will take the decision in signing your films?
I listen to the script first. I will ask my brother (Vikram Krishna) and father (GK Reddy) to listen to it if I am excited. Then we three sit and decide whether to do that film or not.

You are a Telugu guy. How encouraging is Tamil film industry to you?
Talent speaks for itself be it Telugu or Tamil film industry. I am happy that there is place for all talented people both in Telugu as well as Tamil film industry. There is lot of acceptance for newcomers. Background is immaterial. I am very happy about it.

Your father entered into film industry as a producer and could not succeed. But you got success as hero. How do you feel about it?
My dad never used to give up. His failure as producer is just a part of the journey he started. My successful stint as an actor is also a part of his journey. He saw the success now.

How old are you?
29

Any marriage plans?
This is just the beginning of my career. I have a long way to go before getting married.

Who are your favorite actors?
Rajni sir in Tamil and Prabhas in Telugu. I watched all Prabhas’s movies and I like the way he complements his height. Among the heroines, I like Simran a lot.

What are your future projects?
My next Tamil film is releasing for 24th October. I have another film lined for Sankranthi 2007.

Where do you want to see yourself after 10 years?
As an actor and a director. I will be a part of film industry and I will venture into direction after a few years.

What is the influence of your father on you?
I learnt two things from him. One is patience. And other one is will power. He wanted me to establish as successful hero in Telugu too. We got several offers from Telugu producers and directors for remake rights of Sandakozhi. But my father was adamant that he would dub the film. My father’s decision did the trick for me.

Do you have any thing to say to idlebrain.com visitors?
I do visit idlebrain.com regularly for Telugu film related content. I request all idlebrain.com visitors to watch my films and give me some feedback.

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