After a gap of two years, actor Sumanth is back with Naruda Donorudu, a remake of Hindi film, Vicky Donor. “When my grandfather (ANR) was alive, he watched the Hindi film and liked it a lot. Even I liked it and it was then that my friend, Ram Mohan Rao advised me to go for the remake,” says Sumanth.
About his grandfather:
Sumanth was very close to his grandfather, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and stayed with him till his last breath. “I lost both my grandparents in a span of two years. I grew up with them and when I lost both of them, it was very difficult. That’s why I am doing a film after a two-year gap,” he explains. Sumanth fondly recalls the time spent with his grandfather, the legendary ANR. “We never discussed personal things. I observed him a lot while he was shooting for Manam and was in a lot of pain sometimes. But he always told me that he wanted to act till his death. After the shooting of the film, he couldn’t walk and was very weak. But he wanted to dub for his character and so his room was converted into a dubbing theatre. His willpower and heart was very strong and he remained fascinated with cinema till the end,” he shares.
The actor adds that the doyen’s illness united the family. “We became close as a family. Every morning, pedda mavayya (Venkat) and chinna mavayya (Nagarjuna) would come to see him. Other family members also came regularly and spent a lot of time," says Sumanth.
No pressure from family for marriage:
Sumanth is happy with his single status and reasons, “I am happy being alone. There are many people like Abdul Kalam and others in history, who lived as bachelors.” He adds that he is not under pressure. “My family never asked me to get married. Even my grandfather never raised the topic with me. Only when my grandmother was alive, she used to ask me to get married,” he says. He denies rumours that he is seeing a popular Kannada actress. “I am not taking these rumours seriously. I learnt from my grandfather to never be tense in life,” says Sumanth. “I am an easy going guy,” he adds.
Mahesh is my favourite actor:
Sumanth and Mahesh Babu are very good friends. “In the beginning, we used to spend a lot of time together, but now he spends a lot of time with family. We are still in touch. In fact, Mahesh is my favourite actor. I watch all his films and give feedback, even if the film is bad," he says.
Interested in sports because of Suresh and Venky bava:
Apart from the Akkineni family, Sumanth says that he is very close to Venkatesh and Suresh Babu. “They got me interested in sports. Suresh bava and I are very similar. I like basketball (NBA in USA) and whenever it is live on TV, I wake up at five in the morning and we both watch the matches together,” reveals Sumanth.
Akhil is a star:
Talking about cousins Akhil and Chaitanya, he reveals, “They told me before everyone else came to know about their relationships. I am happy for them. Premam is a good hit for Chaitanya and its Akhil's turn now. He is already a star and needs just an above average film right now. Akhil has all the material to become a big star,” he says about his cousins. He adds, “We are all very close and meet regularly, twice a month and also on occasions like birthdays.”
Want to do negative role:
Sumanth says that his upcoming film, Naruda Donoruda has given him the confidence to choose a film’s subject in future. “If possible, I want to produce my own film. From now on, there will be no gap and I will do films regularly,” he says. The actor admits, “I want to portray a negative role, if it is designed well. Tamil and Hindi filmmakers are coming up with good negative roles and I hope they do in Telugu too.”
