Padi Padi Leche Manasu (PPLM) features two of the most versatile actors in the Telugu film industry – Sharwanand and Sai Pallavi. Sharwanand has been on a roll delivering some of the most successful films in Tollywood in the past 3-4 years while Sai Pallavi, with only two Tollywood films in her kitty so far, already has a huge fan base in the two Telugu states. The film is also special as it is Sharwanand’s first film after a long year-and-a-half hiatus. His last performance in Mahanubhavudu was applauded for the ease with which he essayed the role of a person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). From Engeyum Eppothum to Gamayam, the actor always has had a surprise element for his audience in the characters he has chosen. Sharwanand talks to TNM about playing Surya in PPLM, his on and off-screen chemistry with Sai Pallavi, and his upcoming projects.
The past 4-5 years have seen a steady progression in your career graph. Your movies have done extremely well and your characters have always surprised the audience. So what can your viewers expect from ‘PPLM’?
I have been very choosy about the scripts that I pick. Not just the past 4-5 years, but from the beginning of my career. If you look at Gamayam, Prasthanam and maybe most of the films that I have done so far, many of the characters I have played, I wouldn’t call them off beat but yes, I make sure all of them have a different format. I like showing new cinema, new genres to the audience. So, I don’t sign and do films like other actors do. There are actors who do a lot of films and the kind of success they enjoy is different. Not that I am judging their way of working as right or wrong, but it’s just the way I function.
Padi Padi Leche Manasu is not a film that stands out from the crowd. PPLM is an honest and genuine love story. It’s been a long time that the Telugu audiences have seen a proper, heart-warming love story, especially the present generation. It doesn’t have a known premise with those typical romantic dialogues. PPLM doesn’t show what the protagonists do after they fall in love, instead it shows how two individuals fall in love and the conflicts that arise because of their different perspectives towards life. So it’s not different in a broader sense of things, but the story is a genuine portrayal of love.
Sai Pallavi, as we all know, is a terrific actor and always bags characters that have equal importance as that of the hero’s. The trailer of PPLM shows Sai Pallavi playing the role of a doctor. How has it been working with her?
Time and again people have asked me if Sai Pallavi will be a dominant actor in the movie, considering the prominence she has enjoyed in other films. But in PPLM, neither the hero nor the heroine is dominant over the other. It’s a well-balanced script. And like we know, Sai Pallavi is a terrific actress. She is a wonderful co-star to work with. We have been more of good friends than co-stars and I think the chemistry seen in the movie is because of this ease that we share. In fact, she has made me more comfortable on the sets of PPLM than how much I have helped her.
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The trailer of PPLM seems to show faint similarities with Mani Ratnam’s 2000 hit movie Sakhi. Is it an adaptation?
Haha, similarities are there for sure. Especially considering that Sai Pallavi and Shalini both play doctors and also the intense portrayal of love in both the films. But I would only say that the movie may have been inspired by Sakhi, because the plot and premise of PPLM are entirely different.
Telugu cinema has seen a youth wave in the last 3-4 years. Many young actors, including you, have been experimenting with different characters and directors have also been trying new genres. Do you think this trend is here to stay?
I think the trend has always been there in the industry. Tollywood has been experimental, especially when it comes to youth-oriented films. More than any other industry, we have many more young actors in Tollywood. There have been a lot of new faces and the audiences have also been quite receptive about the changes. As long as you make a good film, it doesn’t matter whether the actor is a star or a fresh face.
The youth in the industry have totally changed the way movies were looked upon in Tollywood until at least a decade back. There is a generational change and there is no particular formula that the audience look for while watching a movie. So it’s definitely an impetus for directors and actors to come up with new faces and new stories.
There have been strong rumours about you reprising Vijay Sethupathi’s role in the remake of 96. Are you excited?
The discussion about the remake is still in the initial stages. But we are definitely looking forward for the movie to happen, considering the success it enjoyed in Tamil. And to reprise the role played by Vijay Sethupathi will definitely be huge. We will be letting our fans know about this soon.
What are your upcoming projects in Telugu?
Next I am doing a film with Sudhir Verma. It’s a gangster film and I am pretty kicked about it.