As Venkatesh awaits the release of 'Guru' on March 31, he takes questions on what drew him to the subject, why the film is unique, why he doesn't want to talk about his forthcoming projects, and more.

I have always been lucky:

I am living with the idea of working hard every day. I see myself as a disciplined actor who is of late getting to do interesting subjects. I consider myself lucky because the audience have received me so well since my first film. The result of a film is not in my hands.

Due to various reasons we do some times take some mis-steps. The beauty of life is that everybody makes mistakes and rectifies it himself/herself. It's about not being too serious about life and have modest expectations.

An emotional connect for sure:

'Guru' came to me at a time when I wanted to take up more challenging roles. It has an intense act by me in a sports backdrop.

There are certain emotions in this film which are fresh. The challenge was that it was played by somebody else already. Most of the remakes of mine have been successful. I somehow managed to fit myself into the role of a coach.

The training I did:

We all must have seen some tough teachers in our lives. I have observed coaches who are like that. And I myself can be tough. I took training for six months to get the body language and things right. There was no deviation. I played the role without thinking whether I should do this comedy or that song. My expressions are not predictable in 'Guru'.

Insane disciple, crazy 'guru':

The guru-shishya relationship is always interesting. There are ego clashes, etc. The girl (played by Ritika Singh) is crazy in this film. The teacher is insane, too. How they join forces and emerge victorious is the crux. The emotions are tight and the screenplay wonderful.

The essence has been retained:

A couple of scenes have been changed. The essence is the same. You will see an entirely different Venkatesh. I am there without make-up and you can feel the freshness right from the first frame.

Inspired coach's character:

Since I like sports, those around me are excited that I have done a sports drama. (Laughs).

There have been many sports films, hits and flops. But there has to be an emotional connect for sure. 'Guru' has got a lot of emotional moments that will connect to the audience. Yes, the character of the coach is inspired from an eccentric, crazy coach who drew his disciples to championship with his vision. A lot has been inspired from true incidents. Ritika has done a lot of homework.

The songs are special:

The lyrics and the music (by Santosh Narayan) go with the narration. All the songs are fresh both visually and musically. The picturization is very smooth and natural, I must say.

When I listened to the tune of 'Jingidi Jingidi', I found it quite catchy. I wanted to sing it. People are saying that it's trendy. I myself am surprised.

Costs do matter to me:

I have always been involved into production since the 1980s. I do get worked up when production doesn't go properly.

If you communicate about the figures in the beginning itself, there won't be any problem. The moment you compare with others (budgets of other films), problems begin. I would like my producers to be conservative. The budget over-runs are unhealthy.

Be honest in this field:

I am a very keen listener. I am honest with people. If I don't like a story, I tell it frankly. Some people postpone the matter and waste the time of the other person.

Be honest with your role:

An actor has to be honest with the role he is playing. If I am not stylish in a movie, so be it. Aamir Khan has played father to three girls in 'Dangal'. So many people did ask me how I found it good to play father to a 14-year-old girl in 'Drushyam'. It's fine with me. Earlier I was not ready, but now I am.

This & that:

The audience are ready to accept fresh subjects. But we in the industry are yet to wake up to this fact.

If two films work, they have one kind of judgement about you. If two films flop, the judgement about you is contrary. Majority of the judgments depend on your performance.

The biggest mystery is that we never know for sure when we are going to change. We have become slaves to machines. Man has thrown the remote control away. This is nothing but misery.

No time for others:

I don't bother about others. I have always looked into myself. I myself have problems. Who knows, I have a digestion problem, for example! How would you know I have no problems.

I ask people where do they find the time to think about the society. But people don't listen. I have got a lot of work to do.

Each one comes with his own baggage.

I won't talk about that:

Every time I have spoken about a project which is in talks, they fell apart. So, I won't talk about my upcoming movies now. (Laughs).

I some times even forget the movies I have done. 'Evi chesana, ani anipistundi'.