From being a non-entity six years ago, Sundeep Kishan has grown up to be one of the most sought-after actors in Tollywood. In this exclusive interview to IndiaGlitz, the actor talks about his June 10 release Okka Ammayi Thappa, what its story line is, what his character is, what we can expect from debutante Rajasimha, how it was working with Nithya Menen, and more.

What is Okka Ammayi Thappa's subject?

I would rather tell the story line itself. Krishna Vachan (me) and Sathyabhama (Nithya Menen) end up stranded on the Hitec City flyover along with scores of others. Someone has planted a bomb on the flyover. Thrilling moments follow when it's known that there is an attempt to blow up innocents. Whether someone manages to stave off the impending disaster is the plot. I don't know if it's just a thriller. It's a difficult to describe its genre.

Why is it difficult to describe OAT's genre?

You talk about the genre when you don't know the story. When I have told the story line, you define the genre yourself. It's basically a love story with a thriller backdrop.

You have described your character as that of a mentalist. What kind of homework did you do for the role?

Krishna Vachan is a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, socially responsible person. As someone who can read the other person's mind by dissecting his/her body language, he can ascertain what is running in that person's mind. What happens when such a person is embroiled in a particular situation, is what the crux is about. It's an intelligent part of the film.

So, has your character been leveraged to enrich the screenplay in the second half?

The second half is mostly intelligent. But at the end of the day, OAT is a beautiful love story. Whatever may be the backdrop, the basic driver of the film defines what genre it belongs to.

Looks like there is the element of Terrorism in OAT. There is a song which themes around the role of Religion in...

(Interrupts). I can't reveal all that. Don't mind me. There definitely is patriotism element. There is a lot of take home factor. The audiences will feel they are part of the story.

You didn't take remuneration for acting in OAT. Didn't you feel it's risky?

I should take risk when I believe in something. I don't think I have made a big sacrifice. I decided walk the extra mile because I knew the story deserves to be seen on the big screen. Not charging remuneration is not a big deal as I am living a comfortable life. Naku nela karchulaku kooda lekunda ledu. (Smiles).

What is the role of Nithya Menen?

She is one of the main forces. She entered our project as someone who believed in the story, not just as a heroine. When the director couldn't secure her time for narration, he rewrote some portions, adding certain props, for another heroine. At that point of time, Nithya told she would want to listen to the script. Upon listening to the script, Nithya asked Rajasimha to do away with the props as they needn't be there to impress her. She fully understood the story.

Are you still addressing each other as Mango and Krishna Vachan?

Not doing it now because it wouldn't look good now that we are done with the shoot. But during the shoot, we tried to keep it to the basics.

You have described Rajasimha's sense of humour as unique. What makes you say so?

Rajasimha is the man behind Bunny's character (Gona Ganna Reddy) in Rudrama Devi. He co-wrote the script of Sarrainodu. My pulling Nithya's legs in the trailer has become popular. Actually, there are much better lines in the movie. There is a scene where four child beggars come to Nithya, who tells them that's it's not right to beg. I sarcastically retort saying one must log on to beggars.com and donate via on-line. That's what is happening these days. People donate on-line, but don't do anything for those on the streets.

Some objections have been raised to the title. What's your say?

I am a patriotic person. Our film projects our country as great. How can we choose a title that is disrespectful? The title is meant to kindle the fun that remind us of our childhood.

How has Chota K Naidu helped in reducing the cost?

We could wrap up the shoot in 36 days. Nobody could have done that without Chota mama. Due to his experience, he can complete in one day what others might take 2 days. His experience made a lot of difference when it came to execution, CG work, etc.

June releases are deemed to be risky. Isn't it?

It's not like that. If a film is good, people will watch it for the content.

What went wrong with Run?

Nothing went wrong. Nothing went right either. We wanted to remake a hit film. But we missed out on the soul. I was lucky to work with someone as important and great as Anil Sunkara garu. I am happy for that experience. I agree the film didn't come out well. But OAT is really good. We have watched it six times to ensure the product is good.

What have you learnt from your interactions with Krishna Vamsi?

It's an everyday learning with him. He is like an Encyclopaedia. I get to learn so many things from him. There was a time when I wanted to meet him at least once. Today, I am the hero of his film. Life has come full circle. I am in a happy space today. I don't know where I stand vis-a-vis others.

What are your upcoming movies?

CV Kumar's Mayavan (Lavanya Tripathi is the heroine) and Maanagaram (Regina is the heroine) in Tamil will be dubbed into Telugu. It will be Nakshatram later.

How are you planning to space your releases?