Sai Tej is absolutely fine though he's still in the hospital: Vaishnav Tej

Having struck gold with his debut film, Uppena, which released in February 2021, Vaishnav Tej has three more films in Tollywood. While his Konda Polam, which is directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, is set to release soon, Vaishnav has two more films — a yet-to-be-titled film with debutant director Gireesaya, and another film produced by Nagarjuna.

But our interactions move on from Vaishnav’s films to the closest people in his life — his brother Sai Tej and his mum Vijaya Durga.

Recently, Sai Tej had met with an accident while on a bike, which caused him a collar-bone fracture. But what the world saw was a strong family support and confidence in Sai’s recovery.

Vaishnav tells us that it was especially his mother’s strong instincts that reassured them that nothing would happen to her older son. Through our interaction, it’s also hard for us to miss the actor’s devotion towards his mother. Being the youngest in the family, Vaishnav has indeed been very close to his mother, he confesses. But the actor, whose Instagram profile picture has his lovely mum standing next to him, is rather unabashed in even calling her his first love. We begin by asking after his brother...

Q How is your brother Sai Tej doing now?

Sai is absolutely fine though he’s still in the hospital, under doctors’ observation, doing physiotherapy etc. But he’s recovering slowly and should be back home in another week or 10 days.

Q What had happened there on the bike? Was he driving rashly?

He was driving the bike at a normal speed but the ground was muddy, and when he applied the brakes, it skidded and he fell. The fall caused a collarbone fracture and he had a little congestion. Sai has been completely fine from day one, but it takes time for a fractured collarbone to get back to normal.

Q Your mum must have been worried and nervous?

Mother has been very strong from day one. I feel my mother’s instinct kicked in instantly, and from that very day because she’d said, “Nothing will happen to my son (Sai).” I don’t think anyone will understand a mother’s instinct. [Smiles]

Q We noticed you have your mum with you on your Instagram profile picture. What’s that about?

I’m the youngest son and confess I am very close to my mother. And, yes, I have my profile picture with my mother on Instagram. She’s my first love and will always remain so. Just like her name Vijaya Durga, she possesses all the qualities of Durgamata. [Smiles].

She has always been supportive in whatever I do. Even when I’m unable to decide what to do in life, she’s been encouraging me and always positive that I’ll always find my way out. She always tells me, “Don’t worry; you’ll get what’s in store for you.” I was struggling and didn’t know what to do, but whatever I am today, it’s because of her.

Q But after you settle down into a marriage, will your mother still be your first love or will your wife take that place?

I am yet unmarried. So before I get married, I’ll let my future wife know that my mum is my first love. She will definitely understand [Chuckles].