I never get bored of remakes

Venkatesh’s upcoming film Bodyguard is yet another remake in his 26-year long career. Yet, he states that he never gets bored of his job. He gets talking about his career and why he doesn’t like taking risks

“I never get bored of remakes. If you get bored of something, then you should stop working. You might be repeating the same emotions, but deep down you know that it’s what you do best. That’s what made me what I am today. I always try to enjoy what I do,” Venkatesh says in a matter-of- fact tone. He’s quite candid about his limitations and states that he takes care that his films don’t go overboard in terms of budget. Maybe that’s why most of his films come with a tag of being ‘minimum guarantee’ films at the box office. “I have never bothered to think about the glamour part of the film industry. I have always taken my job seriously because of the training I had got at home. Both my father and my brother treat films as serious business. I make sure that the risk factor is minimal and that my films have not been oversold, so even the losses are minimal, except for a couple of them,” he explains.

His 26-year-old career bears testimony to his penchant for delivering clean entertainment for family audiences. “As an actor, it’s my responsibility to entertain the audience. They are clear about what they like and what they don’t. Also, I try my best to ensure the producers get their returns, because they are the ones who take the maximum risk. If they are confident and financially sound, the whole industry will thrive,” he says.

We couldn’t help but ask him if his roles are challenging enough for him since the risk factor is already minimal. “There are only few emotions which an actor can portray. So, it all boils down to what an actor wants to do and the approach he takes to bring his own style into that role at that point of time. I have been spacing my films out pretty well so that the audience does not feel that I am being repetitive. I guess that’s one reason why most of my films have been successful,” he replies. Of course, his films have been successful at the box office. No other actor in the past couple of decades can boast of a success rate close to 80 per cent.

His upcoming film, Bodyguard is the remake of a Malayalam film of the same name. Trisha is pairing up with him for the third time. “Both of our films have worked well at the box office and Trisha has done a wonderful job in this film as well. I like the treatment given to the love story in the film. All I can say is, Bodyguard is a good Sankranthi package for the family audience,” Venkatesh says. Recently, he visited several places associated with Buddha including Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Lumbini and Kushinagar. “It’s something I have always wanted to do. I have been to several other sites associated with Sufi saints in Maharashtra and other states. Few years ago, I went to Israel. I enjoy my spiritual life because that’s my top priority,” he says and smiles serenely.

Venkatesh has seen the industry go through its ups and downs over the last few decades. One of the biggest problems in the industry is evidently the dearth of good scripts. “That has always been the case with Telugu cinema. Sometimes people attempt different things and when such films don’t work, they go back to doing the routine stuff. You can’t blame anyone in particular because everyone has his/her own comfort zone and tries to play safe. But if you knew the real formula to success, perhaps there won’t be any element of anxiety while making films. Then, there’s no fun anymore,” he laughs.

Age is definitely catching up with him and you can see that in the kind of roles he has been choosing these days. Later this year, he’ll begin shooting for Srikanth Addala’s Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, an action film under Meher Ramesh’s direction and another biopic on Swami Vivekananda. “I have never believed in the number game. Given the right combination, any actor can be the best. But, for an actor, the real success lies in being sincere and disciplined towards with his job. It isn’t just about giving hits,” he signs off.

Bodyguard opens in cinemas on January 14.

Hemanth Kumar | January 10, 2012, Postnoon

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