‘Prati Roju Pandage’ combines message with fun: Sai Dharam Tej

Sai Dharam Tej awaits the release of ‘Prati Roju Pandage’ on December 20. In this interview, catch him talk about the film, why he enjoyed doing it, the message it conveys, his upcoming project, his younger brother’s debut and more.

‘PRP’ is message plus entertainment

The film has nothing to do with the story of ‘Shatamanam Bhavati’.  Our film is about a grandfather and his grandson.  Life is about a celebration every day.  That way, even death can be embraced with joy.  The duty of kids to look after parents is touched upon.  Youngsters busy themselves with their careers, etc.  In the process, they might forget their responsibilities.  Besides having a strong message, the film offers plenty of entertainment.

That’s the hook I loved the most

When the grandson comes to know that his grandpa will die in five weeks, how does he react?  What does he do to make the best of the remaining time?  It’s this point that I loved the most about the story.  For example, Nagarjuna garu celebrated his father in the last days of ANR garu.  This is a live example.

My family came to my mind

For me as an actor, it will be the biggest achievement if I can manage to make my presence felt amidst actors like Satyaraj garu.  I was being a natural, the way I used to be with my grandfather in the movie, I was like that with Satyaraj garu.  My family did come to my mind while doing some scenes, especially a dining table scene in the second half.  We, the larger family, do get-togethers at Chiranjeevi garu’s home.  Those are fond memories.

An inspiring actor

It was lovely working with Satyaraj garu.  He knows how to behave with different people, having seen everything in life.  There was a phase in his career when he received nothing worthwhile for two years.  He was workless for two years.  During that phase, he didn’t lose confidence in himself.  He has no regrets.  That’s what I like the most about him.

So many emotions

The film is a mixture of all emotions.  There is fun, there is banter, there are emotions.  Raashi Khanna is a TikTok performer.  Some TikTok users take their uploads very seriously and put in a lot of hard work.

Getting macho

It took me two months to transform my ‘Chitralahari’ look into six pack abs.  The look is demanded by a situation in the story.  It has to be a shirtless look.  That’s why I needed to build the abs.  It was Ram Charan who recommended to me Rakesh, his physical trainer for ‘Dhruva’.  It was easy for me to get into my ‘Chitralahari’ character.  But it was hard to get out of it and get into the ‘Prati Roju Pandage’ mould.

More than a musician

Thaman is not a music director for me.  He is more of a friend.  Some of the films that we had collaborated on didn’t do well.  However, their songs clicked.  Coming to this film, all the songs have been special.

Being in competition

‘Ruler’, ‘Donga’ and ‘Dabangg 3’ are releasing on the same day as our film.  I believe that every film will have its own audience.

A privilege to be a Mega member

Being a member of the Mega family, I have the duty to hold myself to the best standards.  I feel lucky to hail from Chiranjeevi garu’s family.  There is always pressure to deliver goods.  Be it hit or flop, I put in equal amount of hard work.  

A relatable film

‘Solo Bratuke So Better’ will be shot regularly soon.  So far, we have completed only a small portion of production works.  It tells the story of a man from 22 years of age to the time he turns 32.

I will be going for a lean look for this film.  I like it when debut directors score a huge hit in their first attempt.  It’s a Herculean task in Tollywood to get a film released on time.  A lot of good things are happening in the industry in terms of content.  Right from ‘F2’ in January, we have seen a number of good films.  We have to do better.

Vaisshnav is senior to me

I haven’t given any tips to Vaisshnav Tej.  He is a senior to me.  He was a child artiste and did films like ‘Johnny’ and ‘Shankardada MBBS’.  What tips can I give him?