Vijay Devarakonda is on a roll.  As he celebrates his birthday tomorrow (May 9), he talks to the media about how he has changed post-'Arjun Reddy', what kind of approach he adopts to play a given role, what 'Taxiwala' is like, and more.

After 'Arjun Reddy', which gave you stardom, have you changed as a person?

I have always changed over the years.  And I will always keep changing based on the incidents that happen in my life, the people I meet and the circumstances I am in.  Only my core will remain the same.  Otherwise, I have to change to adapt myself to the circumstances.  Change is inevitable.  If you don't change, you become extinct.  There was a time when I had to deal with only about 25-30 friends.  But once you become an actor, you are dealing with thousands.  And it's not normal!

How has the huge success of your previous film come to define how you choose scripts?

I expected 'Arjun Reddy' to do well.  But I didn't imagine the scale of success.  After such a success, I want to push boundaries.  Such a blockbuster can change your attitude towards scrips.

It seems you recently shot off an idea regarding 'Arjun Reddy'.  What is it?

What happens when Arjun Reddy becomes older?  What will he do when his daughter falls in love with a guy?  Will he behave like Preethi's (Shalini Pandey) father?  It will be interesting to see how the story will develop organically.

Nowadays, everything you say seems to draw attention.  Do you plan to speak like that?  Or is it instinctive?

I say things that I want to.  I can't plan how people react to what I say.  Each person will have a different reaction.  I can't change how I am, how I feel about stuff just because I am an actor.  As long as people express even adverse opinions about my acting, it's fine with me.  But if they tell me to talk like this or that way, it irritates me.  Everybody is free to pass opinions.  I used to comment about Sachin.  These days, the reach has become so wide because of social media.  If people make comments sitting behind their laptops/mobiles, I have to ask them to come and tell me on my face what they want to say.

Are you enjoying all the attention that you are getting?

To me, the attention that I get should be because of what I have done.  It shouldn't be because of a day being my birthday, etc.  I was born because my parents decided they wanted a kid.  Nothing more to it is there!

You were supposed to play Gemini Ganesan's role in 'Mahanati'.  What happened then?

When the role was offered to me, I was scared.  I wanted to say no.  At the same time, it was tough to say no because I didn't want to later to ashamed of myself for not having the guts to do the role.  But playing a real person is something I have never done.  Moreover, I like to shoot for only one film at a time. I didn't know if I will have enough time to focus on the body language, etc.  But once Nag Ashwin zeroed in on Dulquer Salman for Gemini Ganesan's role, I was happy because I didn't have to say no!

What is your role in 'Mahanati'?

I have played a small role in it.  Vijay Antony is Madhuravani's (Samantha) support system.  I did the movie because of the bond I have developed with Nag Ashwin over the years.  He has affected me as a person.  He has shaped me in a certain way.  It was great doing the biopic.  I got along well with Samantha.  After 'Arjun Reddy', she and Naga Chaitanya happened to call me up to congratulate me.  Sam would pull my legs saying she is my senior!

How is 'NOTA' going?  You were scared to do a straight Tamil film in the beginning.  Right?  Are you planning a Hindi debut for the obvious benefit of wider audience it offers?

Ask me to say a 3-page dialogue in Telugu, I can do it in 3 minutes.  Here, I know the dialogue, the emotions, etc.  But a similar dialogue in Tamil takes two days for me.  I need to know each word and decipher what I am saying.  I was apprehensive (about non-Telugu films in the past) because of these difficulties.  But when 'NOTA' came to me, I felt that I should get out of my comfort zone.  I am young and have the energy to do it.  Doing 'NOTA' has been extremely satisfying.  As for Hindi, I can't do it just because I will be able to reach out to a wider audience.  Just that consideration is not enough.

How do you approach your characters?

I like to play my characters in a realistic fashion.  In 'Pelli Choopulu', the guy is lazy and comes with a carefree attitude.  I took a reference to my friends in playing the character.

What can we expect from 'Taxiwala'?

It's a concept-driven film.  It's about a taxi driver and how he reacts to situations when he is placed in unique situations.  It's a laugh riot.  You will shout and laugh in the theatre.

The recent 'Dream Behind Taxiwala' video was nice.  Are you game for promotions?

The video represents the vibes of 'Taxiwala'.  As for promotions, I dislike them normally. My wish is that there will come a day when I won't have to promote my film and yet the audience will come to watch it because it's a Vijay Devarakonda movie.

You have been known for strong-worded comments in public space.  Don't you think it's negative?

I only make comments.  Positive or negative is what you make out of it.  There has to be space for differences of opinion.

How come you feel the 'MC' word (used in 'Arjun Reddy') is bad but you had differences with the CBFC for censoring it?

That's a bad word.  But so also are killing, smoking, drinking, etc.  We are not black and white.  We are grey.  It doesn't work if we stay calm whatever may be the situation.  Arjun Reddy uses the cuss word because of the situation he is in.  If I were to face such a situation in real life, I would react in the same way.

When you mess around with people, that's how I react.  I am not saying using the cuss word is right.  In ancient days, they used to kill people off when they got angry.  When language came into existence, they took resort to abuse!