‘Korean Kanakaraju Blends R’seema and Korean Cultures’

Telugu star Varun Tej is looking forward to the release of Korean Kanakaraju, his first film in two years.

“I wanted to take a step back, recalibrate and be very sure about what I wanted to do next,” says Varun. “I didn’t want to sign a film just for the sake of coming back. When I heard the narration of Korean Kanakaraju, I was genuinely excited. It gave me confidence that this was the right film to return with.”

He found the character an exciting challenge. “Kanakaraju is such an entertaining character—loud and full of energy, quite the opposite of me,” he reveals. “Getting the Anantapur-Rayalaseema dialect right was itself a big task. And over and above that, I had to learn the Korean language and deliver long stretches of dialogue. Getting the pronunciation, timing and emotions right was definitely the biggest challenge.”

Varun didn’t find the role too demanding physically, apart from the dancing. “We wanted Kanakaraju to have a completely different look, so I grew my hair and my hairstylist and the entire team did a fantastic job creating the character’s appearance,” he says.

Time lag, however, was an issue. “Over the last three months, I had to deal with an injury, which kept me away from work for a while. So that added to the timeline.” Because of the enforced break, he says, he got to spend a lot of time with his new-born son.

Varun says the birth of his son has transformed his life. “I’ve always been a bit of a homebody, but becoming a father makes you feel more responsible and you start looking at the world very differently. Fatherhood is easily the best feeling I’ve ever experienced, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.”

Varun has taken the failure of his last film Matka on the chin. “I try to put the same effort into every film and give my best for very character I play. Failure is never easy. As an actor, you always want your films to connect with the audience, so when they don’t, it’s naturally disappointing. But after being in the industry for around ten years, I’ve learned not to dwell on it for too long. For me, it’s always about understanding what went wrong, I don’t repeat the same mistakes.”

Varun sees Telugu cinema undergoing a churning. “A big budget doesn’t guarantee box office success. At the end of the day, it’s the content that connects with. The biggest challenge today is that audience preferences are constantly evolving. As filmmakers, we have to stay in touch with what they’re looking for. I also believe that when you choose a genre, whether it’s comedy, action, thriller, or a mass entertainer, you have to commit to that emotion completely instead of trying to do a little bit of everything. More than anything, a film has to keep the audience engaged. Ultimately, nobody has a formula for success, but understanding your audience and telling an honest, engaging story gives you the best chance to score a hit.”

On that count, he’s upbeat about his upcoming film. “What really excited me about Korean Kanakaraju was the fusion of Rayalaseema and Korean cultures, something that hasn’t really been explored in our industry before. I genuinely hope audiences enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it,” he says.