Sudheer Babu is all set to make his big Bollywood debut with the Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Baaghi. The actor has been getting rave reviews ever since the trailer was released.
“This was a very challenging character,” says Sudheer. “When Sabbir sir offered me the role, he said, ‘people will end up liking you because of the way you talk or behave in the movie. Think of yourself as a hero and do it’. My character Raghav is a champion in martial arts and Kalaripayattu. So I had to train for these for the movie.”
“The filmmakers called me to Mumbai to discuss the script, but mentally I was prepared to say no. But after listening to the script, I felt that there was a lot of scope for performance, so I decided to say yes,” adds Sudheer.
He continues, “I wanted to say no because there is lot of scope for growth in Tollywood and I wanted to concentrate on the industry here. Also, I thought that nobody knows me in Bollywood. In fact, they don’t even know that I am from a superstar family. They had informed me that the role would be that of an antagonist. So I was expecting a small role in a small scene.”
Sudheer bonded well with both Shraddha and Tiger. “It’s because of Tiger that I had to push myself more to match up with him. He has been a professional gymnast since he was young, so fights comes naturally to him. In the movie, Tiger’s character gets inspired by seeing me. So I had to look like I was better than him while performing the stunts,” he says, adding, “Shraddha makes everyone on the location very comfortable. I don’t speak great Hindi so she helped me with the pronunciation and meaning of the words.”
Talking about the difference in the two industries, Sudheer points out that Bollywood has bigger budgets and better marketing plans.
Sudheer also says that Baaghi is not a remake of the Prabhas and Trisha-starrer Varsham, contrary to the rumours. “There might be a few similarities but it’s not a remake of Varsham,” he says.
Sudheer is ready to take up more offers from Bollywood. “A lot of South actors have tried to make a mark in B’wood and very few have been successful. I want to change that,” he says, adding, “From now on, if I am doing a Telugu film whose script will also suit the B-town audiences then I might make the movie in both languages.”
Talking about his future projects, Sudheer says, “I haven’t signed it yet but a biopic on Pullela Gopichand is in the pipeline.”
