In his upcoming film Winner that releases on March 24, Sai Dharam Tej plays a Jockey. For this role, he has taken special training in horse riding. “I trained in Hyderabad, and the real test was when I did the scenes,” says Sai, who is extremely fond of horses. He claims that his director, Gopichand Malineni, got the best out of him. “He is patient and has made me a better actor,” he says.
The unit went to Turkey for the horse riding sequences and roped in Kaloian, who has worked on Hollywood films like Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Troy and World War Z.
“I learnt how a proper jockey positions himself on a horse. The Turkey episode is the best part of the entire shoot and a memorable one for me,” says Tej and adds “Just like how people get excited while entering a cricket stadium, I was excited when I entered the Hippodrome in Turkey. In India, we don’t have those facilities,” he says.
The horse he rode is 18 years old and has 16 years of film experience. “When the director says ‘action’ she starts running and when he says ‘cut’, she stops. Her name is Tora and I have a special bond with her as I used to take her to the sets from the stable and bond with her before the shoot. When I left Turkey, I was in tears,” he says.
While shooting, he suffered minor injuries. “When I fell, Tora saved me by stopping immediately and standing in front of me, so that other horses don’t run me over. Animals too have emotions,” he says.
This film is important for him as it is the highest budget film of his career. Rakul Preet plays the female lead. “I’ve known Rakul since a long time and we are good friends. We started our careers at the same time and we hang out with all our friends Sundeep, Rashi Khanna, Regina, Naveen and others. We have a lot in common — we like the same food and we think alike,” says the actor who admits to not being in a relationship with anyone at the moment.
“I just want to clarify that I am single and friendly with all my co-stars. If I am in a relationship, I don’t have any problem in being open about it,” says Tej who laughs about being linked with all his co-stars. “Sometimes I just laugh it off and don’t take them seriously,” he says. “My mother knows everything about me and I know that once you are an actor, these things are part of life,” he says.
Interestingly, because of these rumours, his college girlfriend didn’t talk to him. “My girlfriend in college didn’t talk to me because of these rumours,” he says.
And who is the best critic for his films? “My mother, brother and my best friend, Naveen (Naresh’s son),” he says adding, “He has been with me through thick and thin.
When asked about his film, he says “If I like the subject, then I decide whether to do it or not. We need to treat success and failures equally. “My mother always says when success comes, don’t cherish it, when failure comes, take it as a lesson and learn from it. I follow the same:” he says.
Speaking of Thikka, which didn’t do well, he says, “In the beginning, I was immature. Unfortunately, the film didn’t do well and I learnt that I have to be more cautious and concentrate on the subject. If there is any doubt, it’s better to discuss the matter with the director and not follow anything blindly.”
