Panja Vaisshnav Tej is the latest hero to come from the Mega family. His debut movie, 'Uppena', will hit the screens on February 12.

In this interview, Tej talks about his thoughts prior to debuting in cinema, what 'Uppena' has in store', what makes Vijay Sethupathi special, working with debutante Krithi Shetty and more. He also talks about meeting with Jr NTR, Chiranjeevi's support and Pawan Kalyan.

Experience as a child artist:

I happened to act in 'Johnny'. Pawan Kalyan mama cast me in a small role because he liked my eyes. After that movie, I did 'Shankardada MBBS' and 'Andarivadu'.

No acting dream:

I am 25 years old. I did a course in English literature for my mother. She first wanted me to try to specialize in Telugu, but the language is not my cup of tea.

I was never interested in acting. In fact, a couple of years before I took to acting, I even thought of applying for a job in the Army since I have a lot of respect for soldiers. The likes of photography, 3D animation and even astronomy enticed me. But I realized that I am not cut out for any of them. In fact, I have no passion as such. I only have some interests. My motto is to give 100% to whatever I do.

When I spoke with my mother and brother (Sai Dharam Tej) about it, they wanted me to act in movies.

How 'Uppena' happened:

I happened to share a couple of my pics on social media. The pics were liked by some filmmakers, who approached me with offers. They didn't excite me. When Buchi Babu Sana's story was offered to me, I liked it totally.

On Chiranjeevi & Pawan Kalyan:

It was Chiranjeevi mama who endorsed 'Uppena' first and insisted that I debut with it. He liked the story and boosted my confidence so that I take it up. He is proud of my work in 'Uppena'. He and Pawan Kalyan are the final word for me. Kalyan mama knows about me doing 'Uppena'.

Big actors are exciting to watch:

I am excited about cinema as such. And a number of big stars are thrilling to watch. I like Tarak anna's dialogue-delivery and Mahesh Babu garu's acting, among others. I am fond of action movies. I know Tarak anna and he is such a welcoming person. He invited me over to his place and spoke so well. Before going there, I thought Charan anna and others would be there. He treats me like a brother. Meeting Tarak anna was a special experience.

Divinity in 'Uppena':

There is something that is sublime in the movie. The force of the divine point will be liked by the audience.

Homework for the role:

Participating in workshops before the production started, was of immense help. Since my character belongs to a particular area, I had to learn the ropes to get the pronunciation right. In this regard, listening to audio recordings of real conversations was part of the training.

Working with talented people:

I play a fisherman whose only job is to woo Krithi Shetty's character. The actress, even though she is new to Telugu, did a great job of learning the language at the earliest.

Working with Vijay Sethupathi garu was another highpoint. He is such a great man and he gave goodies to everyone in the unit on the last day of shoot. I am fortunate that such an actor and huge technicians like Devi Sri Prasad garu have done 'Uppena'.

Superb dialogues:

Uppena's dialogues are going to stand out. Because of the soulfulness of the film, they are going to strike the right chord with the audience.

Film with Krish:

Last year, I also shot for a film with director Krish Jagarlamudi garu. My character in it is in contrast to what I have done in 'Uppena'.