Never wanted to be hero, just want to be a good actor: Telugu star Sree Vishnu to TNM

In this exclusive chat, Sree Vishnu opens up about his upcoming film 'Needi Nadi Oke Katha', making it in the industry on his own and more.
Never wanted to be hero, just want to be a good actor: Telugu star Sree Vishnu to TNM
Never wanted to be hero, just want to be a good actor: Telugu star Sree Vishnu to TNM
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Born on a leap year, actor Sree Vishnu turned 33 recently. Known for films like Appatlo OkadundevaduMental Madhilo, and Vunnadi Okate Zindagi, the actor made his debut in 2011 with the Telugu film Solo. Sree Vishnu went on to play more supporting roles even as he looked for a bigger break to come his way.
The actor starred as one of the leads in the successful romcom Prema Ishq Kaadhal and played the critically acclaimed 'Railway Raju' role in Appatlo Okadundevadu.
Speaking to TNM, Sree Vishnu sounds excited about his upcoming film Needi Nadi Oke Katha (NNOK) which is scheduled for a March release. Directed by Venu Udugula who is making his debut with the film, NNNOK is touted to be the first Telugu film which conforms to the Dogme 95 manifesto. A filmmaking movement which was started by two Danish directors, the Dogme 95 manifesto is all about stressing on the traditional values of story, acting and theme, while eschewing elaborate special effects and technology.
"I will be playing the lead role in the film, as a youngster who is exhausted with existing formalities, stereotypes, and the unusual importance given to education," says Sree Vishnu.
The teasers and trailers of the film have already created a buzz on social media.
 
When asked about his journey thus far, Sree Vishnu is candid, "I'm comfortable now. Earlier though, I used to be shy and not mingle with people. However, I got the confidence later to cope with the nature of the industry."
The management graduate who quit his job, started his career in the film industry as an assistant director in 2006.
Speaking about the dramatic switch, Sree Vishnu says, "I was working in Hyderabad as a web designer. I found the job to be very routine and I was not satisfied with what I was doing. I resigned and they thought I was moving to another company. But I told them that I'm going to the cinema industry!"
Sree Vishnu does not have a godfather in Tollywood, neither does he have any film connections. However, the actor doesn't feel this is a huge disadvantage. He firmly believes that contacts can get you only so far.
"We lack guidance and we make mistakes. But we can learn from them. All these years, I have learnt how to convince the audience with my acting," he says.
Sree Vishnu played small roles in films like Shekar Kammula's Life Is Beautiful and Trivikram's S/o Sathyamurthi. Several critics lauded Sree Vishnu's performance in 
 Appatlo Okadundevadu and appreciated him for doing films which are not typical fare.
Commenting on this, the actor says, "I want to tell honest stories. Nobody will notice me if I do regular films since there are many star heroes who do that. It's only when I do natural, realistic films that I get a kick."
He goes on to add, "I never had the desire to be a hero. It's important that the audience is able to relate to my role. I always try to be a good actor."
Sree Vishnu also does not mind working with new people, be they directors or actors.
Tollywood, in recent times, has seen a string of experimental films, ones that go beyond the constraints of mainstream cinema.
Sree Vishnu is happy about changing trend and says, "The change is happening but it will take more time. Unlike the Tamil and Malayali audiences, the Telugu audience has been watching routine films for a long time now. But eventually, Tollywood too will see more of these films."
Sree Vishnu shares that he loved the Tamil film Aruvi, which told an unconventional story about a young woman who happens to be an AIDS patient. He's also a fan of Mahesh Babu's 1:Nenokkadine and Rajinikanth's Robo (Endhiran in Tamil). 

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