Naa Manase remix is a Fan tribute to PSPK for all his fans: Mismatch hero Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar started his career with a small role in legendary director Dasari Narayana Rao's Young India. Later, he acted in films like Power, Rajnikanth's Lingaa in small roles. He took his time to understand the Industry and find genuine opportunities to shine. He realised that he needs to concentrate on content that suits him better than fancy hero subjects - (which he admitted himself), and is cleverly taking baby steps to become a box office hero. In our conversation with him, we understood that he has a highly friendly and respectful attitude towards others. He is also highly jovial (cracked good jokes in our short conversation) and has a level-headed approach towards filmmaking. Here are the excerpts from our conversation about his new film - Mismatch.

* Before we go forward, we would like to state that we enjoyed your performance in Aatagadhara Shiva film.

Uday: Thank you very much for the compliment.

* You had a long journey of 9 years in the industry and worked with the likes of Dasari Narayana Rao, Rajnikanth and Ravi Teja. What did you observe and learn from them?

Uday: First thing, I learnt from them is discipline and do your work, concentrate on your job rather than poking others (laughs). Rajnikanth sir is very down-to-earth and he respects each and every one. I learnt that aspect from him - to treat everyone equally. Ravi Teja sir involves himself in improvising a scene and he is extremely jovial off camera. He talks about work and works only. I learnt how to be honest to your work and think about improving all the time - no matter what you've achieved, from him. Dasari Garu is a legend and I was really scared to death while working with him. In a way, I was intimidated by his presence on sets but he is highly encouraging.

* There is saying that people who are scolded by Dasari tend to have a long career, did he ever shout at you?

Uday: (laughing out loud) He blessed me by giving an opportunity in his film. As I said earlier, I was too intimidated by his presence, hence, I saw that he never gets irritated or frustrated due to me on sets.

* How did Aatagadhara Shiva change you as a performer?

Uday: I always thought there is a necessity for an actor like me to choose wisely. I can't pull off star-kids kind of launches and audiences won't be interested to watch if I try to ape them. So, I took a path that suits me more. I am concentrating on content-oriented films and scripts. Aatagadhara Shiva made even Chandra Siddhartha, my director a little bit nervous as I have a completely de-glamorised role and he did advise me to see if I really want to do it as my first film. I wanted to prove myself as a performer and did it. (laughing) ... It did not require me to get into shape or look in a certain manner. So, I could just present myself as a character. I learnt to leave all the inhibitions behind.

* How did Mismatch happen?

Uday: I was looking for my next film script that will be ideal for me to explore as a new hero while having a different point with all entertainment values. We zeroed in on two to three scripts from many before Bhupathi Raja sir came up with this story. With him NV Nirmal sir, our director came on board. We liked the idea and developed the script into an honest love story with all elements that family audiences wish to see in a film.

* How do you describe the film?

Uday: It is a 100% family entertainer like Geetha Govindam which came one and a half year ago. We will also entertain our audiences to such an extent. This is a love story between a tech-savvy, urban guy who thinks before he speaks, very reserved and a village wrestler girl who wears heart on her sleeve.

* Did your father G. Sitaram ever give you any suggestions story and films?

Uday: He is a man of great philosophy and writes mostly about the subject. So, he barely gets into film stories and discussion. Once we have a story, screenplay - I definitely take his opinion about it. He tells how he felt about it and that is all.

* What did you learn from your experience in these 9 years in Industry?

Uday: I understood one thing that we shouldn't try to swallow more than we can digest. I looked at the Industry trends and learnt that if one knows their strengths then they really work on their weakness to emerge successfully. I know that I can't expect people to see me in roles like what stars pull off or expect to gain acceptance with my first film. I need to consistently give them a good film and improve my market as a trustworthy entertainer.

* Mismatch teaser released in July but the movie took so much time for release. Why?

Uday: Well, we had a sweet, friendly yet busy star - Aishwarya Rajesh as lady lead and we waited for her dates to be adjusted for our film as she had major films like Mani Ratnam film in Tamil, while we were shooting. For patchwork, we needed to wait for almost 2 months for her dates. But she never ill-treated anyone and was always encouraging towards me, even though I was a newbie - second film hero, compared to her 25 films experience. But she never let that affect me while acting. She is a very warm person who respects her craft and people equally. She is an asset to our film.

* How was it working with NV Nirmal as a director?

Uday: He is very strict when it comes to output and his vision. He wants to see what he envisioned on screen and many times, he shocked me with his camera angles and taking standards. He is a pure delight to work with.

* Naa Manase song from Tholiprema is remixed for this film. Did you decide to go for it as it is a trend or did the script have a situation for it?

Uday: I am a huge Power Star Pawan Kalyan fan. Like all his fans, I am also missing him on screen. So, as a dedication to his inspiration, we wanted to use Naa Manase song. Due to my request, the director saw that the song fits into the script rather than doing it for the sake of it. The song flows with the story and gels well with the screenplay. We thought long about how to shoot it and decided that we should take a unique route rather than go for exotic locations. So, we decided to go with one shot song like in Dil Dhadakne Do and executed it.

* Normally, for such songs people take one to two months for rehearsals. How many days did you take?

Uday: We took total of 3 days. Yes, just 3 days. 2 days of rehearsals at the studio, one-day dress rehearsal at the sets and then we went for the take. Aishwarya Rajesh was a natural and our choreographer, Vijay who is also a Pawan Kalyan fan, gave his everything to the song. We rehearsed for 20 hours on all 3 days, hence we could pull it off quickly. This is a fan tribute to PSPK for all his fans who are missing him on-screen, like me!

* Thank you very much for the conversation, Uday. All the best for Mismatch success and future endeavours.

Uday: Thank you and I request everyone to watch our film in theatres. It is a complete family entertainer and people will be thoroughly entertained throughout the runtime.