On his own
Arun of Katha is currently doing Vigna Rajan’s movie. “I’ve been waiting for a script like this for a long time now and I know I won’t be able to do this again. It’s a love story. I have also confirmed a Telugu project Kerintha to be directed by Saikumar Adivi. Though I’ve done three Tamil films, I have more Telugu fans. Arun has meanwhile been active on stage as well. “We did two plays in Chennai. From the time I turned 19 I’ve been earning my own bread and I believe there is more to life than than cinema. I travelled so much in the last two years; I explored the Nilgiris, Kerala, backpacking, cycling, driving, visiting every village, seeing their quality of life. It was an enriching experience.
Not greedy
Sanjana reveals the secret of her slim figure, “I work out like a maniac, for two hours, five days a week. It’s a high intensity work out. I have to be focussed and have no choice. I don’t eat carbs after 6 pm. I just have to look at food and I put on weight, I feel flabby on my waist line.” The actor is upbeat about her career this year, on one hand she has Jagan Nirdoshi and Yamaho Yamaha and has a massive woman oriented project Mahanandi in Kannada. Is she averse to item numbers? “I'm trying to get out of the image of glamorous bimbos that the industry makes out of the heroines and I think I have a long way to go and shouldn’t be ruining my career doing item numbers. I’m not greedy to be seen everywhere and anywhere.
Crossing milestones
Tanikella Bharani turned 57 on July 14and was busy the entire last week giving interviews. On his forthcoming film Julayi, directed by Trivikram Srinivas, he plays a middle class math teacher who becomes instrumental in goading his son in fighting negative forces and motivates his son. He says, “The father is calculative about life but the son is not. I’m talking of speed of trains and the son is vexed and wonders when his father will speak of cars.” He adds that the film is replete with Trivikram’s wit in dialogue and is close to reality . What did he do on his birthday? “As usual I honoured a poet and a literary figure with golden flowers — a Kanakabhishekam — this time it will be Indraganti Mohana Krishna’s father, Srikant Sharma. He is an accomplished writer in Sanskrit, English, Telugu; he has worked in All India Radio and won innumerable awards.”
Six-pack next?
Twenty six-year-old Shiva, who’s related to Mahesh is making his debut in Jagan Nirdoshi. Says he about his decision to act, “I had made up my mind to be an actor once I complete my studies and after I was done with MBA I started listening to scripts. Jagan Nirdoshi, is nothing to do with the politician. My character’s name is Jagan and he goes to jail for reasons I can’t reveal and the rest of the story is about how tries to prove his innocence and opposes some forces.” Now that his film is almost winding up, will he too sport a six-pack for his second film which has become a norm? “I will do whatever the director says and go by the demands of the character and the body language.”
High calibre
While some actors evolve with each film, some show their calibre in their first film itself. Nisha Agarwal is one of them. Yemaindi Ee Vela was a success here and she worked in the Tamil remake too and that was followed by Solo where she played a regular glamorous role. She has signed two more films now, one a Tamil movie with Rahul and a Telugu with Varun Sandesh, the latter will be directed by Ashok of Pilla Zamindar. About her role in Sukumarudu which is currently on sets, the actor says, “I am playing a character that is different from what I’ve done earlier, it’s about a girl in the village. She is a masala type, funny girl and it’s a nice story. Ask her if her co-star Aadi is really a ‘sukumarudu’ (delicate) in the film and she quips, “His character will be exactly the opposite of the title and that’s the whole point.”
