'Chintakayala Ravi' is a forthcoming Telugu movie starring Venkatesh as hero, Anushka & Mamta Mohandas as the heroines. Yogi is directing the project and Nallamalapu Srinivas (Bujji) is producing it on Lakshmi Narasimha Productions banner. The music composed by director-duo Vishal-Shekhar who made their debut to Tollywood in this film. The album was recently released and has made it to the charts as a sensational hit.

Tell us about 'Chintakayala Ravi'

After 'Tulasi' I wanted to do something light, and was on look for a film with lot of entertainment that people would like to see again and again. 'Chintakayala Ravi' is a romantic entertainer. Basically it carries its own feel of goodness. It includes all the commercial values, but there is no high dosage of elements like drama, emotions and sentiment. It is a light film with lot of entertainment, has good music and visuals, especially the line is fresh with a new backdrop that takes place in the United States. When the audience come out of the theatre, they will feel thoroughly entertained.

The character of Chintakayala Ravi will have the shades of innocence, a little wacky like what you call as thikkathanam. He has his own way of handling situations and also pulling himself out of critical situations. In short, a lovable character that people would like to associate with and feel him in close quarters.

This is not a totally new character for you. How do you relate it to your past films?

I cannot say this is completely new, but this role is little fresh in the style of handling along with the comic sequences. Especially the remise of America which gives a fresh backdrop influenced me to take up this film. The music is quite mellifluous and has been made well. It has already become a hit. Vishal – Shekhar has composed very good tunes after their Hindi flick. As the commercial elements like action, sentiment etc, are not highlighted in this movie, we insisted to make add some pep in the music to bolster the movie. The opera adds glamour and gives a colourful and sheen look for me.

Including this how many films have you done till date?

I am not sure about the number, may be 60 and above.

It's been a long time back since you got acquainted with the director, why did it take so much time to start?

Actually there is nothing like a gap. Two years back we were trying to work on a line, but for some reasons we decided to wait over the project. Later, we came across this cute phrase and my brother was eager to work on something, and finally we came together with this endeavor. Yogi has worked alongside ace technicians and has attained experience in this field. We felt that this crux of the story is simple and appealing with which the director and I can get along well.

Who suggested the title 'Chintakayala Ravi'?

The suggestion was made by me. Initially they gave a title, while narrating the story, but I was not happy. Later, 'Chintakayala Ravi' came across which I liked instantly as it sounded fascinating. For awhile they were hesitant, saying it would not be apt for the film with a star hero, but later got convinced. People also gave a positive response to the title.

In 'Vasu' you came posing a new look, now again you are sporting a fresh trendy look. Do you find any difference?

At the time of 'Vasu' people looked at me surprisingly, may be at that time the term fashion was not popular. Now the times has changed, every year a modern boy displays a colour streak in hair or something, as it has become common. People has now entered the line of fashion and appreciate the new look. For this I have changed a little, because I was getting in to the role, and felt it is required for the character.

Everyone knows that Venkatesh is the only star hero, capable of doing characters that target satires on himself & enthrall the audience immensely. How's he in this film?

This film also features a few sequences on the same line. People might sometimes be offended thinking that he has gone a bit crazy, and feel that why he does things in such scenes which any other hero will rebuff. Every thing is a part of the entertainment.

We have good music directors in Tollywood. State the main reason for choosing the duo Vishal – Shekhar?

I have worked with all the music directors in tinsel ville. For this film our prior prominence lied on managing some fresh music. At that point they sounded fresh, and are also simple, friendly and flexible. So we thought to try their music. It's been long since we had compositions from Hindi songsters, so we also wanted to do the music with them. As expected they gave a mellisonant and lively tunes, especially with the catch words 'nai chodunga', 'valla valla' that we credit to them. I have a special liking for all the numbers.

Have you ever thought about a role that has been your dream for long?

Never really gave a thought about such a role. I firmly believe that some thing good always prevail in the store. Usually, I accept what ever comes at the particular point of time and work on it with utmost sincerity. Both from inside and outside, in my heart and mind, I am enjoying this kind of pace that holds secrets to be unfolded in the future.

Did you ever think of making a film based on Cricket?

We had an idea to do such a film, but could not prepare a complete script. In fact this idea struck us way before 'Chak de India' was made, but unfortunately we were unable to carry out the project.

Are there any plans to make a movie like an adaptation of 'Chak de India'?

We actually wanted to make such a kind of a movie, without adopting others. Even now we are keen to such a movie. Unfortunately, we lack talent in the writing department. Relatively less content (stories) is being generated compared to the number of heroes and productions. We require a lot of talented story writers to envisage plots. I hope my brother's school will cater to this need, and future generations will attain fresh talent, say in 4-5 years.

Part-II