Registering a record 7 lakh hits on a non-filmi video-sharing website, KVJ is perhaps the most popular Telugu film of the year, more than even Eega! Rana is understandably upbeat about the curiosity around KVJ. In this interview with IndiaGlitz, he describes why this Krish directed film is unique, neatly painting it as a film coming with elements that we have never seen before.

In this revelatory chat-a-thon, he elaborates on KVJ's theme, and also speaks his mind on many other things, including why he doesn’t care for stardom.

Excerpts:

Most apt title:

I would say that Krishnam Vande Jagatgurum is the most apt title. B.Tech Babu is a Surabhi theatre artist. His character explains the essence of the film during the pre-climax confrontation with the villain. KVJ tells how the evolution from Matsya to Krishna (the levels of consciousness) is important. As my character says in a scene, ‘sayam’ is of the utmost greatness. There comes a savior (when the world is in danger).

The theatre element:

The drama element may come across as very important in the promo, but it comes only in bits and pieces in the film. The first dialogue of the promo is one such thing. People might have heard about Surabhi though most of us don’t know what it is really. Babu though performing it is, quintessentially, a self-seeking person without any lofty goal to become a savior; in the opening scene itself, he says that necessity of living is what matters nowadays. He eventually becomes one after undergoing self-realization.

Action-adventure film:

KVJ is essentially an action-adventure entertainer. The combination of elements makes it a beautiful film –whether the hero’s character, the Surabhi element, the villain’s mining Mafiosi, or Nayanatara’s profession. To quote an example, Titanic was a poor boy-rich girl story, but the backdrop made it an exciting film. Our film is like that.

A discovery every day:

We shot for 75 shooting days, had 15-20 dubbing days. Every day it was like discovering something or the other. We had seen a couple of Surabhi dramas staged in Hyderabad. I liked playing Abhimanyu and Ghatotkacha with real artists. It was a different experience because while theatre artists face the audience, film actors face the camera and so, shooting for the on-stage scenes in KVJ was like performing on a different performance meter.

It has everything that I have always liked. I have always loved the two Mahabharata characters; Pathala Bhairavi is changed into a short drama; the Narasimha avatar that comes in the climax is another favourite of mine.

In Bellary, the film plays out in a different terrain – the barren land on the one hand and on the other, the lush green field. The bare body sequence, the action, etc make it all the more interesting. The great idea of Dasavatharam that binds all sects of Hindus together is described in a song.

A versatile role:

I think it is only once in a lifetime that one gets to play a versatile role like this one. The drama, the facades - playing them, I enjoyed a lot.

The film itself is layered and textured.

Stardom doesn't matter:

I have always played defined characters; I am not Rana in any of my films. The cinemas would change, not me. I don’t act in films to build an image for myself by doing standard commercial cinema. I like to do films that nobody else does. My films are films with a voice – be it Leader or KVJ. It may be very comfortable to do a run-of-the-mill entertainer with the usual dose of action and comedy, but I want to come out of my comfort zone. The content has to be strong; the actor and the director are merely an instrument and they are not greater than the film.

Experienced actors:

All the actors were chosen to suit their characters. For a character like Devika, who is a documentary filmmaker wanting to capture the Bellary mining saga, the actor who plays it must be someone who comes with a body of work. A newcomer would not be able to do it. So, Nayanatara was chosen. Kota Srinivasa Rao garu was chosen to play a role that is the heart of the movie. They both come with an ability to understand their characters.

Mani Sharma's music:

I am a big fan of Mani Sharma’s BG score. The Dasavatharam number is my personal favorite. It is written by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry garu. The orchestration is very good. All the songs take the story forward. Spicy Girl and Bellary Bava have no relation of identity, whether visual or audio. Even the picturisation is very different. I sport 12 different get-ups in the song set in a circus- I am seen as a dwarf, a giant, among others. There is an item song, too. I have danced with Venky in another song.

KVJ was never a proposal:

It was not offered to me as a proposal. This idea struck Krish when he was writing another story. He narrated me this idea during a 10-minutes chat in Mumbai. It was not yet developed into a story. I liked the idea of a reluctant Surabhi artist undergoing transformation while also in love with a girl. The element of the biggest ever mafia eating into a natural resource excited me.

All the characters are meaningful. Brahmanandam plays a Kannada artist, donning the roles of everyone from Manmadha to Bheema. Posani garu plays a taxi driver by name Tippu Sultan, and he has this dream of going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His dialogue, “Roju 200 rupayalu..” voices the common man's cry.

I think this is Krish’s best film so far. I am not saying this because I am there in it but because it really is one.

Forthcoming films:

My sister is getting married in December. Post that, I will do Selva Raghavan’s film, it is a romantic-comedy