He's shy, shuns flamboyance and is non-controversial. People like him because he is always smiling, exudes happiness and is simple hearted. Gopichand is in the news for his immensely likeable role in Mogudu , as a man who keeps putting off his marriage plans and finally settles for a girl and makes the approval of the family an important part of the story. But when is the actor actually planning to tie the knot? “Very soon, the wait is over. I will marry whomsoever my mother chooses for me. Many women are calling me after watching the film and saying that they want a mogudu like me,” says a beaming Gopichand.
The actor had never worked in a full-fledged family film. It was always violent, action movies. Director Krishna Vamsi narrated a few scenes from the film and after five or six meetings, he made up his mind and resolved to go by the director's vision. He says, “A lot of people wanted action scenes in Mogudu… the fights, fisticuffs… but the reason for me to choose Krishna Vamsi's film is that I was desperate to do something real and natural. Even a single violent scene would mean robbing the film of its purpose. Also, I was apprehensive that no director would touch me with a barge pole if I had continued to work in mass movies. I had decided to go in for a change of image and am quite happy with my decision. The soft character worked.”
Gopichand grew up watching Rajendra Prasad's films as a child and had some fear associated with respect initially while working with the senior actor but Rajendra Prasad put him at ease and gave him the flexibility in approaching scenes, making his life easier on the sets. Gopichand adds, “He was so friendly and I enjoyed doing some important scenes in the introduction and in the climax with him. That is how a father and a son's relationship ought to be. I missed my father thoroughly during that interaction with him.”
He recollects the most terrifying part of Mogudu , “We had shot for a song Kavali Kavali at a zoo in Mauritius. I had to sit on a rock and romance Tapsee while cheetahs and lions would tread before us unmindful of our presence. Tapsee wasn't scared at all because she believed what was told to her that the animals were tamed for 20 years not to hurt humans. My heart skipped a beat each time a cheetah would move past us; once the heroine's hand almost touched the animal, and I thought the story is all over. Animals get provoked when you disturb them.” Gopichand's next movie is with Chandrasekhar Yeleti, followed by a bilingual with Bhupati Pandyan. The actor signs off, “I'm excited and happy that my gamble paid off. Hope God continues to be kind to me.”
