Lovely Star on project high

Before he became a hero, Lovely Star Prem, like many others heroes would devour all the Kannada films released in theatres with unabashed delight.

Though, his first film Prana failed at the box office, he made a strong comeback in Nenapirali which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. He is still known for his role in Nenapirali, and it is quite evident that Sandalwood refers to him as Nenapirali Prem.

His handsome looks, coupled with a wealth of talent have led to a promising career. He followed it with Jothe Jotheyalli starring opposite Sandalwood Queen Ramya, which completed 100 days at the box office.

Prem, like many others faced a rough patch until Charminar provided the much-needed box-office success. He is on a roll again, with several films all set to woo his fans.

“Presently, Fair and Lovely is almost ready and thereafter it’s Chandru’s Male. In April, the second schedule of Mohabbat will also go on the floors,” says the busy actor.

It was Prem who suggested the title Fair and Lovely, as he says that it suited the script, and it was a fun film.

Working with Shwetha Srivastav, who shot to fame with Simplelag Ond Love Story was great too. Recollecting his days of struggle, Prem says, “It has been fantastic so far. Whether it is success or failure, both are a part of everyone’s career. I am not new to this. I have faced both good and bad with good hits and flops. Now, I am back and relieved that I have such good projects.”

The Lovely Star also hopes to start his own production house in the near future. “I have plans to start my own production house though right now, I am busy with films. May be if everything goes according to plan, I will start in two years,” Prem says, adding that his character in Male is of a teenager and in Mohabbat, he plays the mature character of a CEO.

He has his hopes pinned on Fair and Lovely, as it has great music scored by V. Harikrishna, which might make it the musical hit of the year. R. Chandru’s Charminar gave Prem the much-needed break, and he has again teamed up with the actor in Male. “It will release under Chandru’s banner. We wanted to do something different and not be repetitive and do same kind of movies. Not everyone likes emotional context only,” he says, citing that the new team of young directors are doing a wonderful job but according to him experimental movies should be made with utmost caution, otherwise they are bound to fail.

“Any experimental movie should be commercially viable, it is only then can the efforts be appreciated,” he says.

Strongly vocal against dubbing, he says that now that the film industry has come together, the issue of dubbing shall rest forever, hopefully to not to surface again.