I wanted to follow up ... Sailaja… with a full-on commercial film

Ram on signing ‘Hyper’ after a soft-romantic drama ‘Nenu.. Sailaja...,’ romancing Raashi Khanna again and why he wants to work with newcomers

After having a dream start to the year with ‘Nenu.. Sailaja…,’ Ram admits he did take time to flag off ‘Hyper’, his September 30 release. It is for the first time that the actor, in his decade-long career, is working with a director (Santosh Srinivas) for the second time.

He earlier teamed up with the cinematographer-turned-director for the successful ‘Kandireega’. “It’s the script that fascinated me to work with him again. I always wanted to do follow up ‘Nenu.. Sailaja…’ with a full-on commercial film; I wasn’t too keen on repeating the genre again, and was thinking about doing a different film. Santosh Srinivas came up with an interesting story.

The film has a social message with all commercial ingredients in the right mix and I like the way he packaged it. Also, he has matured a lot as a director,” Ram points out. Justifying the title ‘Hyper’, the actor states that he was initially not too keen on it. “Since I’m branded for being very active on the sets, I apprehend that it gives the impression that the makers have titled the film after me but I was convinced only after the tag line ‘Prathi intlo okadu untadu’.”

Raashi Khanna’s comic timing in ‘Supreme’, Ram says, paved way for them to consider her as the leading lady for ‘Hyper’. “The heroine’s part has her own comic moments and we needed someone who is glamorous and is equally good with comedy. This is when we saw ‘Supreme’ and decided that she’s the best choice. Also, our on-screen chemistry in ‘Shivam’ was well appreciated,” Ram reveals.

He admits that he’s evolving with each film as an actor. “Several filmmakers were surprised to see me in a film like ‘Nenu.. Sailaja…’ I have opened up a bit with that film and realised that there’s another angle in me that can be tapped, and that’s one of the reason I like to work with new filmmakers. Playing varied roles and expressing different emotions gives me more excitement. I like the idea of exploring myself as it gives me the opportunity to constantly learn and evolve as an actor,” he explains.

His career has been a mixed bag with hits and failures in equal measures and he feels that the roller-coaster ride helped him pick up several things. He puts in, “I’ve seen successes and failures and I guess I found stability in handling things like pre-release jitters and getting carried away with the success. It may have been a slow progression but I’m glad that it has been a steady one.

I continue to buy scripts and revisit them whenever I feel they can be made into films. I would love to make them under my home banner.” Having starred in several romantic entertainers, is there a love life for him in real life? “Not yet! I’m still busy working on reel life love stories,” he smiles. But isn’t he under pressure to get hitched? “I’m under constant pressure but I have no plans of marriage as of now.”