Deepika Padukone and I were badminton pals: Sudheer Babu

Tollywood star Sudheer Babu, who has made a remarkable debut in Baaghi alongside Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor tells us about his journey of bagging the film, learning martial arts and an old connection with Deepika Padukone. Excerpts:

How did you give a nod to play a villain in Baaghi?
I am very fortunate to play a negative role in Baaghi. I felt that it had a lot of scope for acting. Besides, it was opposite Tiger Shroff.

How did you bag the film?
I am huge fan of Jackie Chan. I used to see the end credits of his film as he shows, his stunts.

I used to learn those stunts and make videos for YouTube. I also try to incorporate those stunts in Telugu films.

The makers saw my videos and approached me. When I heard the script, initially, I wanted to politely say no, thinking down south I have more scope, but later I agreed.

How did you manage high-octane action?
I was nervous thinking of how I would match up to Tiger Shroff, but I learned the stunts in the workshops for around three or four months, and that helped me ease into it smoothly.

What special training did you undertake for the role?
I learned Kerala martial arts. In the film, you see me playing with the dangerous Urumi sword that has eight to ten sharp blades. Along with that, I did boat racing and Kalaripayattu. In the film, Tiger is inspired by my stunts, but in real life, I’m inspired by Tiger Shroff.

How was your bonding with Shraddha Kapoor on the sets?
I have always loved Shraddha because she is a very bubbly and lively girl. When I met her on the sets, I thought she’d be closed like her character in Aashiqui 2, since I had seen the movie and loved her performance in the film. But she was totally the opposite. She has done some amazing action scenes in the film.

What do you prefer between Bollywood and Tollywood?
For an actor, it is all the same. It’s like a sportsman playing on the national or international level. I believe the game is same everywhere but in Tollywood, fans worship the actors. I keep continuing to do films where I have the maximum scope for acting.

Do you see any difference between the two industries?
I believe that there is no shortage of skills in both the industries but in the budget of one Bollywood movie, three Tollywood films can be made.

what’s your take on remake?
I feel remakes are always safer. Sardar Gabbar Singh that  was recently released and starred Pawan Kalayan and Kajal was a huge success. It was a remake of Salman Khan’s Dabangg.