Mahesh_southscope

Transcript

  Five years after the smash hit Athadu  , theTrivikram-Mahesh Babu combination returns with Khaaleja  that promises to turn blockbuster too! Vanaja Banagiri meets Mahesh Babu on the setsand realises that the iconic actor quotes Thoreauwith as much panache and conviction as heshatters box office records. On Krishna,  his father  I completely idolise my ather.I try to emulate his attitude,simplicity and humility. I amblessed to be born to him.  W hat do I say aboutperceptions?Many peopleincluding someof my media colleagues hadled me to believe that MaheshBabu, the award winningsuperstar, ambassador for 5leading brands, may be rulingthe roost, but getting himto talk is a project in itself.Obviously, I was blown out of my head when he turned outto be articulate, philosophicaland humorous, breaking my perceptions to smithereens.Hear it first hand from the hitman of Telugu cinema as heholds forth on his life so far, brand endorsements, Khaaleja  and his dreams…“The years that I didn’t actare the ones that helped megrow as an actor. I took a breakfor three years. I can feel theevolution in me. Trivikram’s been echoing my sentimentsever since we began shootingfor Khaaleja  ,” says MaheshBabu. All eyes are on hisforthcoming film Khaaleja  , which is indubitably one of the most awaited films of theseason. Everybody is waiting with bated breath to see whatthe king of understatement,master of subdued acting, isunleashing this time around. We are in Ramoji Film City,Hyderabad, where Mahesh’sentry song is being shot. Heis grooving away in a rustand white checks shirt anda pair of blue jeans. He’s sweating buckets no thanks to the humid day and the dusty location is not muchhelp either. Trivikram, his only friendand favourite director is watchingintently. Cinematographer, Yash Bhattis shooting his first south Indian film with gusto.In the background you can see vegetableand fruit bandis  and a typical Irani chai  place with an interesting name`Try Luck Café.’ On his right at the farend is a store, Anu Sarees. In the samerow at the other end is a Univercell banner, the brand he endorses. Peoplehave gathered around the scene to geta dekko of their favourite hero. He getshis moves right and the choreographeris happy. He says something andeverybody is in splits. You can sensethe easy camaraderie amongst theteam. He walks towards the computer,checks out the scene on the monitorcarefully and says ‘looks fine.’ He walks towards me and says, “Too muchnoise here. Let’s go.” And leads me tothe vanity van. Once inside, I tell himhow we’ve been on a chase to get himon our cover since our launch issue.He says earnestly, “Sorry, I am not aphone person at all,” pointing to thecell phone that’s lying in a corner, “Icarry it to stay accessible to Namrata.” Iexplain, we’d actually been speaking tohis wife Namrata who kept us updatedfrom time to time, methodically andpromptly. “She’s just unbelievably amazing,” he gushes belying his shy nature, “She’s made my life so mucheasier. Besides being a great wife andmother, she also handles all aspects of my work. I only look at the creatives.She’s also influenced my dressing.Earlier, I would be comfortable only in checks shirts and jeans but sheintroduced me to T shirts. Now, Iquite enjoy experimenting with my look.” Quite right. His wardrobe hasundergone a make- over since  Athadu . Was it a conscious decision? DidNamrata play a role in that departmentas well? “Times are changing. You don’tneed me to tell you that. Everythingtoday is about clothes, hair, looks andappearances. For Khaaleja  , Mamta Anand has designed my clothes.Namrata brought her on board and shehas done a fabulous job.”On the personal front, everybody iscommenting on how he looks more atease with himself after marriage unlikehis earlier reclusive self. “Contrary toperceptions, I am not a recluse. Youcould call me a private guy. You couldeven call me shy. Even when Pokiri    became this huge massive hit, I felt shy and nervous with all the attention I was getting. But calling me a recluse isa bit far-fetched, you know. The fact is Ilike my space. I still get uncomfortable with attention though I’m getting better with handling it thanks toNamrata. I’m not a guy who’s ever beeninto socialising or hanging out at nightclubs. That’s not my scene. I love beingat home with my family. Namrata hasdefinitely brought out the best in me.My son has totally transformed my life. When I hear my four year old sontalk, it’s like a miracle. It’s difficult toput it into words,” says the actor who’sknown to be a man of few words. “I’ve been talking ad nauseum to you. Itake a little longer than most people toopen up. I also don’t believe in using words when silence serves a better sep’ 10 sOUTHsCOpe 4746 sOUTHsCOpe sep’ 10 On Namrata,  his wife  We were on an outdoorlocation or 40 days. Onthe last day o shooting,we realised the intensitythat was building upbetween us. I can’tpinpoint the momentwe ell in love. It justhappened. I love hersimplicity. She’s so real. Inever proposed marriageto her ormally. WhenI told my ather aboutus, he enquired aboutour marriage plans. Wegot married in February,2005. I’m lucky to haveound her. We dated orfve years and have beenmarried or fve years.Our relationship hasgone rom strength tostrength.  purpose. But when words are required forcommunication, I can speak at length. Like I’mdoing at the moment,” he flashes a smile thatreaches his eyes. Who are his friends? “Trivikram from theindustry.” And outside? “None,” he says. What?How’s that possible? “Yes, it’s true. I have nofriends. I studied in Chennai till my B.Com. When I moved to Hyderabad, I lost touch with my friends. Not that I had many of them.Honestly, I don’t miss having friends. I amquite happy with my own company and my family’s. Either I’m working or I’m at home.Life’s blissful this way.” He may not be intosocialising but he’s been easily the most activesouth star on Twitter. “Namrata and Blah, theceleb management company that handles my endorsements were instrumental in getting meon Twitter. They made me realise that this isthe only platform where I could have a directconnection with people. Now, I really enjoy tweeting.” Some people are downright rudeto stars on networking sites. How does hedeal with them? “I haven’t encountered suchpeople, luckily, so far. But if I do, I will ignorethem.”So what’s he doing in Khaaleja  ? “Ask what Khaaleja  is doing in me,” he guffaws. “Jokesapart, you will see a brand new side of MaheshBabu that’s never been seen before on screen.So far, I’ve played subdued, understated yet powerful roles. This is the first time my character is loud, brash, funny as hell and yet very realistic. Very natural, very convincing. Ican never do anything that I’m not convincedabout.” How convincing can a professionalkiller be like he was in  Athadu  ? “Actually, I hadtrouble initially convincing myself that I canpull it off. But once the director explained thecircumstances and situations, I managed toget into the skin of the character. And I thinkI did a fairly decent job.” Decent? That was by far one of his best on screen performances. “My personal favourite is Okkadu  though,” he says.So how does he go about signing a script otherthan the fact that it should excite him? “I lookmainly at the characterisation of my role inthe context of the story. If that interests me,if it captures my imagination, I take it on.” So what goes wrong when a film doesn’t work like Sainikudu  , for instance? “That was a bad film.The director is undoubtedly one of the best inthe industry. Half way through the shooting of  Sainikudu  , I knew it wasn’t going to work. Butthen, you can’t abandon a project just because you stop believing in it, right? That hashappened with many of my films that flopped.”So does he change his approach when a filmdoesn’t deliver? “No, I don’t.” Do flops affecthim? “Of course, they do. I get depressed,dejected, I go through a huge turmoil. But Ihave become better at handling it now. Three years of break helped me immensely.” What didhe do during the break? “I saw my son growup. I also went through deep pain. I lost my grandmother, who I was closest to and alsolost my in laws. I spent loads of time with my family. I also discovered my inner strengththrough spiritual reading. Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now  and New Earth  have influencedme a great deal. I have, however, always beena very balanced person from day one, largely  because of my father. He was a huge star with anunbelievable fan following when I was growingup. But at home, he was just my father. No startreatment, no starry airs. I think the best giftparents can give their children is grounding.I hope I can demonstrate to my son what my father did for me. I can’t thank him enough. You know, my being here today, in films isentirely due to him. Every year, we would goto Ooty for summer vacations. Every summer,he would get me to do a film. Before I realised what was going on, I had become a child star with a fan following and popularity! It is easy to get carried away and lose your head. But Ihave been lucky to have had a normalupbringing.” What does he like about being a starand why does he think he has themaximum number of endorsementscompared to his contemporaries? “Ilove the recognition, money, fame,love, success but what I love most isthe creative aspect of this profession.No two days are the same. There is noscope for monotony or boredom. Yes,I love the endorsements that comemy way too. At the end of the day,endorsements are based on an actor’spopularity. I hope that answers yourquestion. Having said that, I must tell you that I accept only the products I believe in. My criteria for acceptingUnivercell, for instance, was based onthe founder’s humble beginnings andhis conviction that helped his company succeed in a big way. Thums up, theother brand I have been endorsing forsome time now, is a household nameand so is Amrutanjan, the newest brand in my wagon. The Provoguecampaign should be out soon,” heexplains grinning from ear to ear. Would he ever do a multistarrer? “Why not? I’m open. Though I have my doubts if anybody can come up witha befitting story.” Who would be hisdream co star? “Pawan Kalyan. Now,that would be interesting.” Wouldhe ever venture into other areas of filmmaking? “Nah. Once an actor,always an actor. I’m passionate only about acting. I haven’t done anythingelse in my life, you see. From age 4 tonow. I can’t think beyond acting.” That, we’re sure, is music to the ears of hislegion of fans. sep’ 10 sOUTHsCOpe 4948 sOUTHsCOpe sep’ 10 On Gautam,  his son  At our, he shows all the signso becoming an actor. His birthhas made me value my lieeven more. He’s precious. He’smy lie. You’re not a completeman until you become a ather. On holidays  I love holidays. My currentavourite destination isMalaysia. My all time avouriteis New Zealand. We love Goatoo. On people  I hate liars. I disconnectinstantly with people whomess with me. I look orcommitment and excellence inthe people I work with. On his dream  I would love to win a NationalAward. I have no idea i I everwill. But what’s the harm indreaming?  On Khaaleja  Life is an ensemble of incidents. Man becoming God is purely incidental. According to scriptures, there isGod in every human being. DaivamManushya Rupena  is the theme of thefilm. Mahesh Babu is a regular taxidriver, an ordinary human being whotransforms into a divine incarnation when he comes face to face with anunjust incident. Honestly speaking, we started out to make a regularcommercial Mahesh Babu film but itassumed a life of its own. Watch outfor an entire new Mahesh Babu. Hehas pushed his boundaries and tackledcomedy phenomenally well. He isthe comedian, character artiste, itemguy, action hero, lover boy all rolledinto one. It has all the elements of acommercial film and yet very out of the box. Anushka brings bad luck tohim throughout the film. That leadsto hilarious situations. Mahesh hasattempted humour for the first time. I won’t say it’s an experimental film butthe treatment is definitely very unusual.There is nothing run-of-the-mill aboutit. Let me give you some inside news.Mahesh Babu worked with me on thescript completely and closely. You cancall him associate script writer. We have also tried a new cameratechnique. There are lengthy shorts without frequent cuts. We haven’tdone anything for cinematic ordramatic convenience. Yash Bhatt,the cinematographer has done anoutstanding job of using zoom in a very different way. On Mahesh Babu Lot of people talk about passion.Mahesh Babu lives it. I remember anincident during the shooting of   Athadu  . At 2 midnight, after Mahesh had leftthe set, I wanted him to come back fora retake. He had almost reached home but came back. And then he went abouthis work with a smile, effortlessly.There is no pressure of working witha star when you work with him. Hedoesn’t take his star status seriously atall. That’s his best quality as an actor. As a person, he has undergone a 180degree transformation. Marriage hasdone wonders to him. He used to beextremely shy with romance before.Now he’s opened up much more. If he can speak truth he does, otherwisehe doesn’t bother. The birth of hisson has matured him a great deal. Ithas actually helped him as an actor.He’s so sure of himself now that he’sconfident of his first take. His technicalknowledge is superb. I think five yearsfrom now, he may be ruling Bollywood.He is a reservoir of acting stamina. On ood  I love south Indian ood. My wie’s cookingprowess encompasses making a cup o tea. Theway to a man’s heart is defnitely not through hisstomach, in my case. I preer going to Novotel,Ista or Westin because they ensure privacy.Namrata and I love the cuisine at Fusion 9 too. On Khaaleja  I have never done a role like this one. I am a loud,unny taxi driver. It’s an out and out commercial flm.There are no messages, no fght or fght’s sake. Youcan’t categorise it. There is action but it’s very real.Very credible. It has all the elements that peoplewould want in a good flm. Trivikram Srinivas, Director Namrata Ghattamaneni onMahesh Babu  As an actor I think he is by far one of the best actors we have inour country. I say country because that’s how I feel truly. He is aconsummate actor andgives hisall tothe character he portrayseach time. He is totally committed to his craft.  Asa husband, he’s incredibly loving and truly understanding. Weare the best of friends. Meeting and marrying him have been the best things that have happened to me. I am going through thehappiest phase of my life. Do I have to say more? As a father, he’sthe best dad in the whole world. At least that’s whatGautam and Ithink. He’s Gautam’s idoland nothing matters moreto him than waking up in the morning and see Gautam smile. Starring: Mahesh Babu as Seeta Rama RajuAnushka Shetty as SubhashiniPrakash Raj, Sunil, Brahmanandam Directed by: Trivikram Srinivas Produced by: Singanamala Ramesh,C Kalyan Khaaleja On his next flm  It’s tentatively titled Dookudu  . My co-staris Samantha. Sreenu Vytla is the director.We start shooting on 14th September inVadodara, Gujarat. Highlights Unusual camera work – lengthy shots, zoom on steady camPetrol bunk fght scene directed by Ram-LaxmanComedy track between Mahesh Babu, Brahmanandam & Sunil Written by: Trivikram Srinivas Music by: Mani Sharma Cinematography: Yash Bhatt, Sunil Patel Editing by: A Sreekar Prasad Distributed by: Geetha Arts sep’ 10 sOUTHsCOpe 5150 sOUTHsCOpe sep’ 10