Director-turned-actor Devi Prasad has played a key supporting role in the upcoming 'Tholu Bommalata'. In this interview, catch him talk about the film, its director, what we can expect from it, being an actor after directing movies, his upcoming products and more.

A different family drama

I have played Rajendra Prasad garu's son in the movie. My son is played by hero Vishwanth. It's not a regular family drama. You will find many elements that we see in family dramas but there is a twist. Essentially, it deals with family relationships.

Gutsy director

As a director, I can say that debutant Vishwanath Maganati has done a very nice job. He hasn't gone in for safe genres like action drama. Directors choose subjects like this one after gaining hands-on experience. It needs a lot of guts. Vishwanath is after appreciation/recognition and not after money.

Realistic, relatable

The incidents/conversations in the film are so highly relatable. You will have references to your life. The director is also a good writer himself. There are no negative characters as such in the movie. The characters are full of all shades, like humans are in life.

Addictive cast

I like Rajendra Prasad garu a lot and I feel glad that I got an opportunity to work with him. He is a legendary actor. Sangeetha garu, Chalapathi Rao garu, and other seniors are also part of the cast. It was a great experience teaming up with them. They were addictive. I felt bad that the shooting was over fast.

A producer with taste

Producer Durga Prasad garu lives in the US. I appreciate that he wanted to do a story like this one, a film that values human relationships. We artists haven't seen such a cool producer.

Gaining a lot of experience

I am enjoying this phase as an actor, as I am getting to work with newer directors. I am exposed to new kinds of thinking and making styles. If I recommence my directorial stint in the future, I will vastly benefit from this experience.

When I am an actor, I am just a student. I don't give any suggestions to my directors. Nobody knows his product more than the director. An actor has to be like a white paper, letting his director write down whatever he wants. Kodi Ramakrishna garu used to tell me that I would make a very good actor. I wanted to stop acting after 'NNOK'. But I changed my mind after I started receiving so much appreciation for my performance in that film. And many roles have followed since then.

Getting only serious roles

As a director, I used to make comedies. My character in 'Needhi Naadhi Oke Katha' was a serious one and I have since been playing serious roles. Artists are easily typecast in the film industry. As an actor, I want to play all kinds of roles. I am confident that I will be able to. I will surely be turning to direction again. For now, I will continue to act.

Upcoming movies

I am doing Sharwanand's 'Sreekaram', 'Ayushman Bhava', 'Software Sudheer', '22', 'Kadhal', among others. I am in talks for Krishna Vamsi garu's 'Rangamaarthanda'.

My films are up for release in a row in the coming months. I am part of 'Adbutham', which has Shivani Rajasekhar as the heroine. I am playing her father in it. About 14 films in which I have acted are up for release. I have played a naxalite's role in a Telugu-Kannada flick directed by Nayeem. A new director has narrated a superb script to me. I will be playing a sophisticated, cunning, cold-blooded villain in it.