Dileep Tamanampudi was an ordinary youngster looking for a break in the Telugu film industry till he auditioned for director Teja’s movie Hora Hori.
It took a single audition for Teja to finalise the 25-year-old for the lead role. “It was unbelievable that I managed to impress director Teja who is very particular about choosing his actors,” said Dileep.
Born in Palakol, West Godavari district, Dileep grew up with a passion for acting and shifted to Hyderabad for his BTech.
“My parents Anand and Satya Lakshmi have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. But they wanted me to complete my graduation first. So after graduating in aeronautical engineering in Hyderabad I decided to try my luck in the film industry. Later, I joined the Satyanand Film Institute in Vizag,” he added.
Speaking about working with Teja, Dileep said, “If you work under Teja, you can survive anywhere in the industry. People often say he is strict. But one feels relaxed after working with him. He was like a school teacher to me,” he added.
Dileep plays a “net centre organiser” named Skanda from a rural background in the film. “The pre-climax and climax scenes in the movie were the toughest to perform. They were very emotional scenes. The entire movie was shot with no special lighting set-up and no make-up for the lead roles,” he said, adding, “I am lucky that I did not fall sick even though I was drenched all day and most of movie was shot in the rain. I observed every person, from a beggar to businessman, I came across. That helped me in acting,” he said.
