I’m open to do multi-starrers

The Mass Maharaja of Tollywood, Ravi Teja, in an interview with Hans Talkies speaks about his upcoming movie ‘Kick 2’ and more

Ravi Teja will be back on the big screen this Friday with the much awaited ‘Kick 2’ after initial hiccups which delayed its release. While on one end the actor is gung ho about his new avatar in the film, rumours of him being unwell were doing the rounds but the actor put all the doubts to rest.

“I lost nearly 10 kg thanks to a fitness regimen which I have been following religiously. I weighed 80-82 kg earlier but I like how I look now and want to maintain this weight hereon,” he says. ‘Kick’, which released in 2009 was one of the biggest blockbusters in the actor’s career which rocketed him to a league of his own.

When quizzed if ‘Kick 2’ will garner the same accolades, Ravi Teja says, “If you ask me, I would say this film is more entertaining than its predecessor and also has a lot of action. This will definitely do better than ‘Kick’.” While ‘Kick 2’ has been referred to as the sequel of ‘Kick’ ever since the shooting began, the actor tells us otherwise.

“This is not a sequel to the earlier film. All the characters in the film are new and do not have any link to the previous film. In the final credits of ‘Kick’, we had mentioned that the movie will be back with a sequel. However we did not know what to make and it was then that Vamsi came up with an idea and we asked him to develop it.

After two-three years of toiling over the story, it was finally complete and we all felt ‘yes this is ‘Kick 2’,” Ravi Teja reveals. ‘Bahubali’, Ravi Teja opines, has paved way for a brand name for Tollywood across the world. “Thanks to Rajamouli and his efforts, people across the world are now familiar with the Telugu film industry.

The concept of audiences and filmmakers were redefined by the movie. A flurry of hits like ‘Sreemanthudu’ and ‘Cinema Chupistha Mava’ which followed ‘Baahubali’, have just given a boost. I just hope ‘Kick 2’ adds to that list with a success to its credit,” the actor shares. Ravi Teja has been paired with Rakul Preet Singh, a new name that is all over the film industry and the actor lauds her efforts.

“She has done a fabulous job and is very hard working too. We are planning to ride on her luck for ‘Kick 2’ as every film she has been a part of has become a blockbuster,” he chuckles, adding, “Rajpal Yadav and Ravi Kishan have done an exceptional work as well. They grabbed the Telugu dialogues perfectly and delivered them unbelievably well.”

On another note, the actor had earlier confirmed that he would be part of the Telugu remake of ‘Special 26’, which stars Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpai in the lead. Eliciting about the movie, Ravi says, “The plans are on still and I really love that movie and would definitely love to be part of the remake.

However the film cannot be made exactly like the original. It needs to be tweaked to suit our local sensibilities.” While talk is on about a Hindi film’s remake, is there a possibility that he will star in Hindi film himself, considering that several of his films have been remade? “If I get good offers then I am open to do a film there,” he says.

Meanwhile, the multi-starrer trend is fast picking up and Ravi Teja doesn’t mind joining the gang. “The multi-starrer culture isn’t great here but I am open to such kind of films. One movie alongside Venkatesh was in discussion earlier but it never took shape,” he informed.

By Navin Pivhal