The peppy Hindi dance number ‘Vilayati Sharaab’, sung by Darshan Raval and Neeti Mohan, has become the latest internet sensation. The video, which stars Tollywood actor Allu Sirish and Heli Daruwala, has garnered more than 94 million views on YouTube after it officially premiered on the channel Indie Music Label at the end of March. ‘Vilayati Sharaab’ marks Allu Sirish’s first big step outside Tollywood, after being known for his movies such as ABCD, Sreerasthu Subamasthu, Okka Kshanam and Gouram among others.
Sirish, brother of actor Allu Arjun and younger son of top Tollywood producer Allu Arvind, spoke exclusively with TNM about his successful Hindi venture. He says that the offer came to him out of the blue, and he suspects that the makers behind ‘Vilayati Sharaab’ came to him after seeing a fun dance song that was deleted from his previous movie, Okka Kshanam.
“It was all organic. The offer came to me out of blue and it all just happened. The music video producer, Naushad, called me through mutual friends after seeing a song from my previous movie on YouTube. That song is actually deleted from the movie and only exists on YouTube. I enjoyed dancing in that fun mass song. The makers of this music video (‘Vilayati Sharaab’) were also contemplating a similar fun and massy music video, with the character of an auto driver, and then they approached me. I thought, why not!” Sirish shares.
However, he says that he never dreamed that ‘Vilayati Sharaab’ would get such an overwhelming response. “When I heard the song first, I thought it was catchy and wished that it would do well. But the kind of response that we are getting right now was not even dreamt of. I'm so happy and I’m enjoying the success; I read the fans' reactions on social media and smile. I'm surprised at the kind of love that the song has received,” Sirish said.
‘Vilayati Sharab’ has brought the actor compliments and well-wishes from his family and fans. However, Sirish feels that the best compliments he has received are from friends who have gotten in touch with him after many years. “Friends from the north and other parts of the country, who have lost touch for years due to various reasons are now calling about this song and are complimenting me after watching it on TV,” he shares.
Sirish practiced his moves for five days—three in Mumbai and two in Hyderabad—to prepare for ‘Vilayati Sharab’. He received training from Yashwanth Master, a renowned dancer.
Speaking about his future Bollywood projects, Allu Sirish says that he has not thought so far ahead yet, and would like to concentrate on Telugu movies for now. He is currently on the sets of a romantic film with Anu Emanuel in the lead. Apart from this, he shares that he is also planning for a Tamil project this year.
South Indian actors’ ventures into Hindi music seem to be a trend lately. Recently, actor Rashmika Mandanna was seen in the music video of rapper Badshah’s latest single ‘Top Tucker’, which gained over 70 million views on YouTube.
Watch the video song of Vilayati Sharaab here :