How does it feel there -- on cloud nine?

Very nice to make it to the top through my debut itself. Of course, I stayed put in the skies for a while but soon grounded myself back to reality. The fame I got from ‘Jayam’ has to be maintained and a lot depends on the success of successive films. I must prove that I am not just a one-film wonder.

Did you ever anticipate this amount of success?

Not at all, to be frank. We did anticipate a fare amount of success at the pooja stage itself. With my dad as the producer -- he is a seasoned film technician, a true visionary about this field and producer of Telugu films for a very long time and my brother as director with a tailor made script for a new face like me, success was always on the cards, literally.

In an era, where hi-tech filmmaking is becoming the order of the day, what made you think of an ordinary village based story line?

Of course, the production of hi-tech movies is on the rise these days. But, for a film’s commercial success, all three [A, B &C] centers are very important. B & C centers are the vital ones for a box office success. ‘Jayam’ does very well in those areas even now. ‘Jayam’ is likable to all. We thought that the innocence of the main characters would definitely click with the audience and we are very happy that it really did make an impact on them. Though, at the outset the story looks rustic, the screenplay is very modern and has enough in it to win.

Mostly, only heroes get chances to do some gimmicks. But despite, ‘Jayam’ being your home production, its heroine garners applause for her much talked about hand style with a catch word ‘Pooooe yah poe’. Do you have any grouses against your director-brother for that?

Absolutely not. Why should I? Whatever the heroine tells or yells, I am the one who is at the receiving end. So, no regrets. In ‘Jayam’, every character is as important as the main ones and has its own prominence till the end. May be, the heroine character has a bit of an edge over the others because the screenplay demands it. The hero is young and innocent and he needs an external force to understand himself. That is being given to him through the heroine’s character.

Your entry… a planned one or accidental?

Very well planned. In fact, I had this penchant for acting even when I was in school. Having lived in filmi circumstances all through my life with dad and brother around, I guess, it is quite natural that I am into it now. But, dad advised me then to concentrate on my studies for some more time. After schooling, I graduated from Loyola in Visual Communication and had a brief stint in histrionics at Kishore Namit Kapur acting institute in Mumbai. As I am a trained ‘Bharatha natyam’ dancer, cine dance comes to me so easily.

One would get an impression that there are plenty of rope-pulling sequences in the movie…

It’s unavoidable, I think. Script wise, the hero is too young to make solo fights with the baddies. The first half of the movie shows what his talents are and in the second half it gets complemented with the help of his chums.

Any thrilling, chilling or painful experiences during the shoot…

Oh, that train song! The mere thought itself gives me goose bumps even now. The group dance sequence we performed atop a moving train was quite risky. The train was moving on a 100 feet tall bridge and we danced on the roof-top knowing well that there were no precautionary life nets beneath the bridge. It was a ‘karanam thappinal maranam’ like situation but thank God, nothing untoward happened. I experienced a bit of ‘aching joy’ feel during the romantic song shoot. I had a tight metal rope round my waist for that song. It was too heavy and the song scene was shot for one full week. The scars of the metal rope remain even now in my body but the end result healed everything.

Unforgettable moments…

Rajni Sir saw the movie and highly commended my performance… “The movie was really moving” is what he said. Vikarm Sir and Surya also complimented me.

Any interesting projects on the anvil?

Yeah, sure. M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi -- that is my forthcoming project. The shooting has just started. I hope the lull after ‘Jayam’ will be justified with the release of this movie because it has everything. That’s all I can say about that at the moment.

Ambition…

I just want to be remembered as --- , (smiles) “I can turn even stones with my acting”