‘I can walk English’

Venkatesh had a whale of a time with Ram during the making of ‘Masala’ .

Venkatesh in a still from 'Masala'

What’s life without a little humour? And what’s life without having the time to do what is important to you? That’s why you never hear that Venkatesh is too busy for something. “I seldom use the word busy because, if it is important to me, I will have to find time. No one is too busy to escape their duties,” he says. The actor adds, “Find time, make time; don’t look for an excuse.’

The actor’s office at Ramanaidu Studios is all set for a TV interview, close to the release of his forthcoming Masala , another ‘double hero’ project. After Sitammma Vakitlo … where he was seen with actor Mahesh Babu, this time Venkatesh will be seen with actor Ram. Talking about the movie which is slated for the weekend release, the actor says he is always on the lookout for stories which are good and appeal to a wider audience. “The subject was easily available and we wanted to finish the project before summer sets in. Masala is a remake of Ajay Devgn Abhishekh Bachchan-starrer Bol BhachanBachchan and I am doing Ajay’s role. Shooting the movie was fun because it was a pretty light subject and the mood naturally lingered on even after the takes,” says Venkatesh.

What does he prefer, subtle or loud-in-the-face comedy? He elaborates: “I definitely like subtle comedy as a lot depends on the expressions and comic timing and that’s what I do in this movie. In this movie the English is the highlight. Everyone on the sets looked forward to my ‘different’ English. For sample: I can walk English, talk English, my whole body language is English and I can crush the British with my English.” Comedy being his forte, the actor says, dealing with the scenes and the shots didn’t take him much preparation. “It was all about getting into my elements. I have been mischievous and a prankster since school and some of the childhood traits lived with me. I am glad it did.”

What about his co-star?

“Ram is a young actor who reached stardom at an early age and is a good actor. He is young and energetic and has many years ahead of him. He has his own style of acting and it was a good experience.”

So is Venky setting the trend for double hero projects? “It is time the audience and writers looked at me in a different way. Hindi movie industry is much ahead of us in this matter. I always wanted varied roles but because the actors of my generation started acting very early and reached stardom at an early age it didn’t materialise. Thankfully

Sitamma … came along and the idea also clicked with Mahesh.”

On his forthcoming projects, Venky says “I have three projects, one with Radha, another one with Nayanatara and one home production with Charan.”