Actor Vaishnav Tej speaks on ‘Konda Polam’

Hyderabad: Actor Panja Vaishnav Tej from ‘Mega family’ says that the attraction for commercial movies is always there. 

However, he is a bit choosy. Anything that remotely resembles a routine-rehashed package wouldn’t amuse him. 

“When I see big stars like Prabhas anna and Mahesh Babu garu including my family members (Mega family), I am quite attracted to being in their shoes. The attraction for commercial movies is always there. But I am choosy. I am very shy to discuss movies with my family,” he says turning emotional seeing his movie ‘Konda Polam’ getting released on Friday.

A novel adaptation from the same name, ‘Konda Polam’ is directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and produced by First Frame Entertainments. 

“I never heard of ‘Konda Polam’ until the story was narrated to me by Krish garu. It’s a story replete with fantasy elements. So I immediately latched on to it. It’s a story that has both message and commercial elements. It’s a zero to hero story of an intelligent youngster who lives in the forest,” the actor says.

With no rehearsals, no workshops, Vaishnav says he was anxious in the beginning. 
“My first film ‘Uppena’ with Buchi Babu Sana was a fun ride because almost the entire cast and crew were new. But in ‘Konda Polam’, everyone were seniors – be it Krish, music director Keeravani garu, Rakul Preet is again an experienced star and senior actor Kota Srinivasa Rao all were top notch. I was quite amazed to see Kota garu and his acting prowess. Senior actor Sai Chand too was impressive with his role,” he adds.

‘Konda Polam’ needed Vaishnav to be non-glamourous. Even audiences got to see him in deglam role in his debut flick ‘Uppena’. “Konda Polam’ has a specific backdrop so I needed to look in a certain way. Practice the slang to get into the skin of the character while ‘Uppena’ didn’t need me to work on getting the language right,” the actor says.

Another coincidence is he plays the IFS officer Ravindranath Yadav in ‘Konda Polam’ and very recently his brother Sai Dharam Tej played IAS officer Panja Abhiram in ‘Republic’. However, both movies aren’t common in any way, he says. “Great to see my brother’s movie getting good appreciation. He will be back soon. His health condition is stable now,” he added. The actor is getting ready for his next Tamil debut.