Most people in the film industry have a notion that actor Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas works with only A-list directors and his father, producer Bellamkonda Suresh, ropes in leading heroines for his projects. Bellamkonda Suresh had given director VV Vinayak his first break with Aadi . In return, as a token of gratitude, the latter after he became a big name, wanted to launch Sreenivas in his direction.
Reflecting on his first film, Sreenivas says, “I was just a producers’s son when I worked with Vinayak; I didn’t know much about acting. Since I was a newcomer, they felt the film needed a well-known heroine, and they roped in Samantha.” From thereon, as is the norm in the Telugu film industry, the pattern of casting A-listers continued in the next few projects. Sreenivas got cast alongside leading women, including Kajal Aggarwal. He and Kajal are teaming up again, this time for director Teja’s film Sita , poised to release this summer.
Sreenivas tells us that he can’t do much about pre-conceived notions and he hopes that his hard work will reward him with a hit at the box office: “My recent film Kavacham was directed by debutant Sreenivas Mamilla. Teja’s film Sita doesn’t have too many popular names. I am genuinely happy to be working with Teja. To be honest, it isn’t enough if we have glossy songs and action scenes; you need a strong story and have to prove yourself as an actor. In Sita , I do have action scenes in the second half, but it’s essentially a rom-com.”
Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas with Kajal Aggarwal in ‘Sita’
Prod him on the title and he avers, “When you see the teaser you will know why we named the film Sita . There is a great story, and Payal Rajput is doing a special role. Alludu Seenu and Jaya Janaki Nayaka also had strong content but those films were dominated by commercial elements, but here we stuck to the content.”
Despite the criticism that he has so far only starred in big budget commercial films, trade pundits say that within a short time he has made a considerable impression on the digital market and his films get sold for a good price.
He is now choosing films with good content and hopes that it will cater to all sections of the audience. One of his forthcoming projects is the Telugu remake of Rakshasan (Tamil); he is also in talks with director Ajay Bhupati (of RX100 fame) for another film. Sreenivas has also signed a biopic of Tiger Nageswar Raoand is very excited about it. He says it’s about a Robinhood sort of character, who died at th age of 27.
Sreenivas could be a product of nepotism but insists that he has worked hard to create a market of his own with half a dozen films. He quips, “I went through my share of struggles, I know the value of cinema but people think it’s a cakewalk for me as my father does all the spade work. . For Jaya Janaki Nayaka I put on 15 to 18 kilos of muscle and it was one and a half years of hard work. Then I had to cut it down for the next film. I go through the grind to look the character and also behave like one.”
Sreenivas talks about shooting Sita at Angkor Wat in Cambodia; the only film to be shot there after Tomb Raider . He plays the character Ram who grows up at the temple and shifts to the corrupt world after those formative years. How he reacts forms the crux of the story. Sita, his cousin is played by Kajal .
Sreenivas waxes eloquent on Teja, “I feel very confident after working with him. I can feel the difference as I go to the sets of my next film; emoting has become easier. Teja is clear about what he wants from his actors. He makes us internalise the characters and situations.”
As a parting shot, Sreenivas says he has no qualms that the title focuses on the leading lady: “On Sui Dhaga posters, Anushka’s pictures are highlighted, you’ve got to respect that she made her debut first.”
