Anand Deverakonda on choosing ordinary roles

One should be strong to handle new-age audiences, says the actor

Anand Deverakonda exudes an unaffected simplicity, doesn’t actually go by the dictum of ‘fantasy hero’, nor does he like to be protected under the wings of his star brother Vijay Deverakonda.

His debut film ‘Dorasani’ and later ‘Middle Class Melodies’ and now his comedy family drama ‘Pushpaka Vimanam’ – all characters have a different graph.

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He plays the role of a maths teacher Chittilanka Sundar in the movie. “He looks like a loser. He is so frustrated and messed up after his wife elopes soon after marriage. Sundar doesn’t even lodge a complaint with the police. It isn’t a complete comedy entertainer but has elements of thrill and suspense, and also an underlying message in the story,” says the actor.

Anand admits that he was a little worried and scared of playing the role of a maths teacher.

“I thought how I can play a role where my wife elopes with someone within a week after marriage. Would audience accept me in a husband’s role? But my confidence gradually grew after the look test. Comedy isn’t forced, it’s situational. Later, the element of thrill picks up slowly as other characters chip in. The story gets pacy when actor Sunil garu enters. There is a strong emotion in it. Audiences would laugh at the way Sundar gets frustrated,” he says.

Anand likes to bring new concepts to the table and says audiences are ready to accept films with such quirky stories and off-beat characters. “There are so many such stories waiting to be told. I feel there are audiences for naturally-grown and simple stories without much noise. If new directors are waiting with such scripts, we just need actors and producers to fill the space,” he says.

Anand has another interesting story to tell on-screen which he has been working with KV Guhan, a cinematographer-turned filmmaker.

“It’s a road thriller titled ‘Highway’, and there’s another movie wherein I play an auto-driver. Many new films are in the pipeline, but how best could I act is what matters,” he says.

The actor says that his brother Vijay isn’t involved in his story-selection process. Ask him if he follows his brother’s path of becoming a star, he says, “Not too much, I would check from time to time whether I fit in his roles. But his career is entirely different. And I’m bothered about mine.”

Anand went into retrospection soon after the debacle of his debut film ‘Dorasani’. “I thought, we should have either made it an art film or completely a commercial movie. We were caught between the two,” he says.

“When I played a Guntur Abbayi in the second film, many thought what’s wrong with me and how odd I’m looking with ‘Bombay Chutney’. But after ‘Middle Class Melodies’, people keep asking what am I doing next, which is good,” he shares.

Elaborating on audience reaction to his roles, Anand says, “Can’t help it with the new-age audiences. When we first thought of experimenting with an inexperienced team in ‘Dorasani’, soon after the poster launch, trolling started with nepotism and other angles. And they praised me in the second film. Psychologically, you might get upset but when you’re strong enough to face it all, everything can be handled.”

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