Actor Bharath, who enjoys a good market as the lead hero in Tamil and given memorable movies like Kaadhal, Veyyil and Em Magan, surprised many, when he signed to play one of the hardcore antagonists in the Mahesh Babu-starrer Spyder, directed by AR Murugadoss. Though some of his Tamil movies were dubbed in Telugu and released, this is apparently the first time Bharath is acting in a straight Telugu film. The actor speaks to DC in an exclusive on the reason for essaying a negative role in his debut Telugu venture, on Mahesh Babu, the high octane stunts, Murugadoss’ quirky screenplay among others.
“I got roped into the film after 10 days of shoot. I got a call from ARM sir from Ahmedabad, who said they are looking out for a powerful villain for Mahesh Babu and he needs to be someone who is popular as well. Murugadoss sir completely explained the script and the character, leaving me thoroughly fascinated. And I thought it was the right opportunity to enter ARM’s school! Moreover, people know me in Telugu through my dubbed films like Premisthe. Making a direct entry in T’town with someone like Mahesh Babu will have a very big reach. Hence, I gave my nod instantly.”
Heaping laurels on Mahesh Babu, he said, “Though I have met him a couple of times earlier, I have not gone up and close. Despite the stardom he enjoys, the kind of respect he gives to everyone is amazing. He neither overdoes or underplays his role.”
The actor says that Mahesh was patient enough when he was taking time for his Telugu lines. “Since it is a bilingual in Tamil and Telugu, each scene had to be shot in both languages. While Mahesh is fluent in Tamil, I could not speak Telugu. There were huge dialogues for me in Telugu, but he waited patiently for me to complete the scenes and that really helped me perform better.”
On Murugadoss, he says, “He knows exactly what he wants from each and everyone. He doesn’t complicate things. And he is a master in screenplay narration. Though SJ Suryah plays a negative role, I also have a solid character and my scenes with Mahesh was shot for 25 days.”
Reminiscing about a quirky fight sequence shot in Vietnam, he says, “It was a high octane stunt between me and Mahesh which was shot on a moving roller coaster for about 15 days. It appears at a crucial segment. All credit goes to Peter Hein and of course Santhosh Sivan sir who made it possible (shrugs).”
Finally, Bharath adds, “Spyder will be one of the best action crime thrillers in Indian cinema and a big film in my career. If you ask me if I would continue to accept similar villain roles, my answer is ‘no’. I want to pursue my career as a hero only.”
