Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja Interview
It's an interesting story, how Ravi Teja transformed into the venerable "Mass Maharaja" of Tollywood. It dates back to 2002, days before the release of Idiot, which catapulted the actor into superstardom. Admittedly, the actor had reservations about his character Chanti's quirks, crossing the limits of "acceptable behaviour" on screen. After watching the final cut of the film, Ravi Teja recalls telling good friend and director Puri Jagganath —"Jaggu, ee character behaviour mothadu mari ekkuva peruguthundi emo," (Don't you think this character is pushing the limits of eccentric behaviour on screen?). To which, the director responded, "Ee cinema tharavatha nee position ela untundo nuvve chudu." (Wait and watch what this movie will do to your career).
The Game Changer
The movie ended up changing more than Ravi Teja's fortunes. His portrayal of Chanti, the irreverent son of a police constable who falls in love with the daughter of the police commissioner, ushered the dawn of a new era of "Telugu cinema heroes" onscreen — more whimsical, reckless, rebellious, vainer, brasher and roguish than ever. Chanti was an extension of Pawn Kalyan's character in Badri and was the precursor to his own Chandu in Itlu Sravani Subramanyam and also, the iconic Pandu in Mahesh Babu's Pokiri.
The Ravi Teja of the Old
Ravi Teja has delivered many hit films since, but never could recreate the frenzy that films like Idiot and Itlu Sravani Subramanyam. And now, director Gopichand Mallineni promises to "bring back the Ravi Teja of the old," in Balupu. Bring that up with the Mass Maharaja and he politely brushes it off saying, "Ante basicga director ki nenante chala ishtham." (The director is a little too fond of me).
A far cry from the hyperbolic characters he plays on screen, Ravi Teja prefers to let his movies do the talking. "The guy who buys the tickets must talk about my work; I don't really like talking about my work," he says, preferring to describe Balupu as an "out-and-out entertainer with a good commercial script, two beautiful girls, nice songs and great comedy."
Plain & simple
That he prefers to keep things simple is pretty obvious from the way he talks about the thought process that goes behind his movies. "I liked Gopichand's confidence and clarity when he
narrated the script to me.
Danni nammi cheyatame anthe thappa, ekkuva alochinchi, katha ila chesthe bauntadi, ala theesthe bauntadi ani eme mi alochinchanu. (I just trust the director and never over analyse the script, screenplay etc). You are just taking a bet at the end of the day, so confidence, be it on the filmmaker or the script, is all that counts," reckons the actor, who is teaming up with the director for the second time after Don Seenu, which was Gopichand's directorial debut.
Since that film, the actor's career graph took a downward spiral.
Save Mirapakay, the six films — Dongalamutha, Veera, Nippu, Daruvu, Devudu Chesina Manushlu — that followed, failed to live up to the audiences' expectations and earned him brickbats for getting "too stereotyped." The superstar however, retorts, "When I tried to do off beat films, they tanked at the BO. I don't think the audience wants different films — they only want to be entertained. Anni cinemalu nache chesthamu kada, kani manaki nachinavi konni sarlu audience ki nachuthayi mari konni sarklu nachchavanthe," (We all do films believing in them completely, but sometimes, the audiences like what we like and other times, they don't).
Instinctively reactive
For him, acting is all about instinct. "No preparations, no homework, only class work," he declares. Talking about his approach to every movie, he reveals, "Okati chusi daniki react avvadame thappa, prepare ayyi, repu enti, future enti, anedi eppudu alochinchanu. Ippudu enti, anthe, react ayi vellipodame. Ee sceneni ila chesthe bauntadi ani eppudu work cheyaledu nenu. (I just follow my instinct and react to the situation and improvise on the spot. That's all, I don't think/prepare too much about what's tomorrow, what's in the future etc. It's all about reacting to the now)." Ravi Teja adds, "I've been lucky to find directors of the same wavelength."
In fact, liking the people he works with, is of utmost importance to the actor. "I don't like seriousness on my sets, alanti vallani encourage kuda cheyamu, ranivvamu. (I can't work with people who aren't fun loving. I don't encourage such people) Chala serious ga, chirakuga undevallu naku nacharu, lagi guba meeda kottalanipisthuntadi! (I just can't stand the serious, irritable people... I feel like giving them a tight slap on their faces!)," quips the actor, adding, "Kothimuka pani chesinattu undali, jovial ga aaduthu paduthu pani cheyali. (On my sets, people are always playing pranks, are cheerful and having fun while working)."
A joy ride
Apparently, working on Balupu was also a big joy ride. We couldn't let him go without getting a word or two about his "two beautiful co-stars." "It was fantastic as both are fabulous actors. Shruti Haasan is playing a very energetic character, something she's never done before. The character is close to the person she is off the screen. Anjali's character is an extension of her role in SVSC, and she also did a great job," says Ravi Teja, who is playing a "super confident guy" in the movie. The actor reveals that his character has two shades — a super cocky side and a super entertaining side. But there are speculations that he is doing a dual role. "You will have to watch the movie to find out," he concludes. Balupu, produced by the PVP Cinema, is releasing today.
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