As Allu Sirish celebrates his birthday on May 30, he today met the media to talk about his future movies, his take on remakes, the failure of his previous film, and more.

What are your immediate projects this year?

I am doing two movies this year. If one is the remake of the Malayalam movie 'ABCD' ('American-Born Confused Desi'), the other one is the Suriya-KV Anand movie. I am playing a lead role in the latter as well.

The Suriya film is the biggest thing for you. Tell us about the project.

It's a billion rupee movie and I am pretty much excited about these projects. Mohanlal garu is also doing it. I have always been a big fan of Suriya garu. As such, I am very happy to be acting with him. The film will be shot in London from July 1. The shoot will go on till November. I can't say much about the movie. A common friend of mine and KV Anand garu referred me for playing this role. The director then watched 'Okka Kshanam'. That's when he contacted me.

How did 'ABCD' fall into place for you?

I have known the story of 'ABCD' for about three years now. I didn't want to do a remake and so, I didn't go for it. However, whenever I was bored, I would look at its story. Madhura Sreedhar garu first wanted to cast me in a different remake. It was then that I suggested 'ABCD'. With him liking the film, we decided to remake it.

What is the premise of the film?

I will be seen as a millionaire's son in 'ABCD'. Since he doesn't know the value of money, he is sent to India where he has to live with meagre resources. He has to live on a mere Rs. 5000. What does the hero then do? Will he change as a person? That's the crux. One Sanjeev will debut as the director. He is very confident. I have total faith in him.

Don't you think remakes are low-hanging fruits?

It's not easy to do a remake. Besides nativity, lots of stuff have to fall into place. When we do remakes, it's not for want of good stories. It's because we don't want to miss out on a good subject. While we in the film industry think too much about remakes, the audience themselves aren't concerned. They only need to like a movie.

You are also doing non-Telugu films so early in your career. Are you doing it consciously?

The Malayalam film '1971' came to me rather unexpectedly. I have also done a Tamil movie. Compared to Telugu cinema, there are a lot of differences between our and their films. I am not confining myself to this or that kind of cinema.

What is the role of Allu Aravind and Allu Arjun in your career?

It's my father who first listens to the stories that I am offered. Before the film is taken to the sets, Bunny too listens to them. I listen to the views of both. I make it a point to show my film after its editing is done to both of them.

Were you disappointed with the failure of your previous film? You were betting big on it.

Commercially speaking, 'Okka Kshanam' didn't give us the results we had expected. So many have discovered so many reasons for its failure. Content-wise, we are very happy. Maybe, the output had to be better. That said, we are not disappointed. After watching the movie, many are asking me to play intense roles. As far as I am concerned, 'Okka Kshanam' is my career-best movie.

Are you going slow in terms of number?

I am not in a hurry to do films. My brother has been in the industry for 15 years now. Yet, he has done only 17 movies. With a focus on just one movie at a time, a quality output can be ensured. One has to keep doing commercial films to grow. I am keen on doing more and more films from now.