One should be strong to handle new-age audiences: Anand Deverakonda

Hyderabad: Anand Deverakonda exudes an unaffected simplicity, doesn’t actually go by dictum of ‘fantasy hero’, nor does he like to be protected under the wings of his star brother Vijay Deverakonda.  His debut ‘Dorasani’ and later ‘Middle Class Melodies’ and now his comedy family drama ‘Pushpaka Vimanam’ – all characters have a different graph. He plays […]

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

His debut ‘Dorasani’ and later ‘Middle Class Melodies’ and now his comedy family drama ‘Pushpaka Vimanam’ – all characters have a different graph. 
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 whole 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 about how I can play a role where my wife gets eloped 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’s 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’, there’s another one I play as an auto-driver in it. Many new films are on the way, but how best could I give is what matters.”

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? “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,” he says.

Anand went into retrospection soon after the debacle with his debut film ‘Dorasani’. 
“I thought, we should have either made it an art film or completely a commercial cinema. We were caught between the two. And when I played the Guntur Abbayi look in the second film Many thought what’s wrong with me and how odd am I looking with Bombai Chutney. 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 launched trolling got started with nepotism and other angles. And again 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. After ‘Middle Class Melodies’ they keep asking what am I doing next, which is good,” he shares.