Have to live up to family’s reputation

Actor Sai Dharam Tej, who comes from megastar Chiranjeevi’s clan, says he feels no pressure due to that fact. But he says he is aware of the responsibility to live up to the reputation.“I know I come from a very popular family. But that adds no pressure on me. I have a big responsibility to keep my family’s reputation intact, though. Everybody in the family encouraged my decision to act, but also cautioned me,” said Sai.

Chiranjeevi’s family has already produced actors such as Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Allu Sirish and Varun Tej among others. Sai says there’s no competition with them.“Lot of flowers blossom from the same tree, but they don’t compete with each other. We see each other’s films but never talk about it. At home, we rarely talk about films,” said Sai.

After a long delay of nearly three years, Sai’s first film ‘Rey’ is releasing in cinemas on Friday.Directed by YVS Chowdary, the film, a musical drama, also features Saiyami Kher and Shraddha Das.Explaining the film’s delay in release, Sai said, “One reason for delay is my knee injured my while filming a song. Shooting had to be stalled for nearly three to four months.”

“The director has taken a different backdrop. The story revolves around a music competition in the US, where the best of the world’s top pop stars compete,” he said adding that the dance sequences took a toll on his body.“Since this was a dance-based film, I spent almost five months learning dance before the project went on floors. We shot the climax song for about 35 days, and it was rigorous,” he said.