It is action, not violence: Boyapati

If Balakrishna is a ball being thrown in full force, the wall it is going to strike needs to be strong and that wall is what Jagapathi Babu’s character needed to be - Boyapati Srinu

Having jumped into the big league of directors with the success of Balakrishna starrer ‘Legend’, Boyapati Srinu says that his confidence is often mistaken for ‘arrogance’ and his feeling of triumph is mistaken for ‘haughtiness’.

“I was confident that the film would be a success even before its release. But if we blow our own trumpet, people start thinking you are being presumptuous,” he says talking about how he was sure of the “legendary success” of the film.

He says that though the shooting of ‘Legend’ began around a year ago, the foundation was laid three years ago, after the success of his earlier film ‘Simha’.

“Balayya had told me after a success rally, to come up with another story for him and though I did have something in my mind, it took some time for the story to materialize perfectly, and finally it proved to be a big success now,” says the director.

“Even before I wrote the story, I wrote the character of Balayya. I decided the style, mannerisms, and even wrote the dialogues. It was then that I thought of a story line and then included all those into it,” he says.

The other crucial character in the film is of Jagapathi Babu, who is seen in a negative role in the film. According to Boyapati, he wasn’t the first choice for the role. “We were thinking of many actors – both new faces and experienced actors.

But there was this urge to do something new, and that is when a friend suggested his name,” he tells us. Though convincing Jagapathi Babu wasn’t a difficult task, ensuring that his role was substantial and full of spunk was what took more effort for the director. “I had to elevate his character in such a way that it had the power to match Balayya. If Balakrishna is a ball who is being thrown in full force, the wall it is going to strike needs to be strong and that is what Jagapathi Babu’s character needed to be,” he points out. Interestingly, the new look of Jagapathi Babu is not only getting him amazing response, but people have also been wondering why he never did such roles before!

When quizzed as to why he hasn’t worked on a full on love story till now, he says, “How can you say that? My film ‘Bhadra’ was a love story. In fact my next film in which I will be working with Ram Charan is a love story too.” However, he feels perplexed when we say that there was a lot of violence in ‘Bhadra’.“It was a pure love story with a backdrop full of action. Don’t confuse violence and action,” he quips.

How about a film like ‘Aashiqui 2’? “Producers are investing so much money due to belief in me. So I can’t risk their money. Do you think our audience will like such movies? They have some expectations from stars. Audience come to theatres to experience something that they cannot see in their real life. So I think, for me, it’s not a possible option.”

Meanwhile, he rubbishes rumours that he will direct the launching film for Balayya’s son, Mokshagna. “Please don’t print such news. There is no truth in it. This hasn’t even crossed any of our minds!” he says.