Srinivas Avasarala's experimentation continues. In a year when he played a soft villain in 'Gentleman', he also directed the soft and sentimental 'Jyo Achyutananda'. That was last year. This Summer, he has done a genre that is in total contrast to his real him: 'Babu Baga Busy', an adult comedy.

A choosy actor, what does Srinivas look for in a script? "I have to be excited so I can go to work every day. So, the story has to be good first," pat comes the reply.

Ask him about whether he was influenced by the male lead in the original, he says, "I hadn't watched 'Hunterrr' before. I watched it just once after this remake offer came to me. I never tried to imitate the performance of the male lead in the original. That would have looked fake".

It was fun doing the movie, but Avasarala would be at his reticent self, which would prompt the bubbly Tejaswi Madivada to rag him. "It's not like she used to rag me. She is energetic and I am a quiet person. If, say, I didn't say 'Hi' to her, she would pull my legs," the actor shares.

We hear that Avasarala was involved in finalizing the heroines. What is the truth? "I had had a few profiles while working on my directorials. When Naveen Medaram (director) couldn't find someone apt for a role, I forwarded certain profiles, some of which he liked," he reveals.

Apart from helping the makers in picking the girls, he also participated in story discussions on being requested to do so. "Naveen is equally experienced as I am. When it comes to script-writing, there are no rights and wrongs. It's about making creative choices," he avers.

It's believed that adult comedies don't go well with women audiences. Is Avasarala skeptical for the same reason? "I don't agree. I watched a vulgar comedy in a theatre. Half of the audience were young women, who were enjoying it. Enjoying or not enjoying a movie has nothing to do with your gender. It depends on what you are," he analyzes.

Has he been consciously choosing roles in contrast to one another? "A myriad of roles don't come your way just because you want to do them. One has to be lucky as well. I liked the role I did in 'Raja Cheyyi Vesthe', but it didn't work," he says, talking about luck.

From his movies, it's more than clear that Avasarala has an ear for music. Having worn the hats of an actor, director and writer, doesn't he want to try his hand at singing? "I have a lot of respect for songs," he says in a lighter vein, leaving nothing to imagination.

As a director, does he want to do what is called as "commercial cinema"? "I don't know what it means. 'Oohalu Gusagusalade' and 'Jyo Achyutananda' fetched profits for all stakeholders. Are they not commercial movies?" he shoots back.

We get more straightforward at this. Will you ever do a film with a mix of those typical masala elements, namely, action, comedy and romance? "May be, I will. Visibility is also important," Avasarala says with all honesty.

A spiritual-minded person, Avasarala is almost reclusive. "I am not social. I sometimes get bored about socializing. It takes time for me to warm up to people," he says.

From being a no one to someone in Tollywood, he has surely grown in stature. But it took guts on his part to take a life-changing decision while working in US several years ago. "I didn't tell about my filmi dreams to my family until 'Ashta Chamma' got released," he says.

As someone who belongs to a certain school of cinema, he believes that writers have to be in touch with human nature. "We are not supposed to work keeping results in mind. It's like a sport. One has to enjoy oneself while doing it. Commercial success is the last stage of the journey. There are several stages, including, writing, casting, production works, etc," he says with a touch of 'karma yogi'-ness.

"Middle-class sensibilities excite me. What excited me with 'Jyo Achyutananda' happened to be enjoyed by the audience. It's not the other way round. I am happy that many siblings started patching up after watching the movie," he says with a sense of satisfaction.

Avasarala wants to push boundaries. He refuses to believe that the Telugu audience are conservative, unlike Bollywood lovers. "That our audience wouldn't like an adult comedy is a false notion. People are the same everywhere. 'Babu Baga Busy' will find its audience for the same reason, for its budget and its aims," he puts it rather candidly.

We ask him about an idea which was asked to be sent as a script to Aamir Khan's office. "I didn't send it in the end. Some of the ideas had been used in Telugu. It was a peculiar idea. May be some day when I get to meet him in person, I may tell him the story," he reveals.

Saying that he didn't feel uncomfortable while doing romantic scenes in 'BBB', Avasarala says that he is looking forward to doing films that will be appreciated by a wider audience base. 'Ami Tumi', 'Meda Meeda Abbayi', a key role in the Allu Sirish-Vi Anand movie are some of his upcoming movies.