The film’s cast, Adivi admits, was a risk. “We had actors playing against their image. A comic actor was cast as a serious cop. On the morning of the release, I went into the theatre in a cap and dark glasses, thinking we’d be laughed out of the theatres. We got a standing ovation.” That has been pretty much the response to Kshanam from audiences everywhere.
Adivi, who co-scripted Kshanam, says the idea for the film came to him when one day he gave a lift to a little school girl. “The way she stopped my car, got in all alone got me worried. What if something happened to her? I dropped her home, took her parents’ phone number and asked them to be more careful.”
Adivi now looks forward to Kshanam being made in Hindi. Understandably he would like to be part of the remake. “It would be disheartening to see the film go to another actor.
Like I said, I initially came to cinema to be a Bollywood actor. I’ve been receiving offers from Hindi cinema. But they’re not the kind for which I’d take a break from Telugu cinema.”
Adivi admits Kshanam has changed the course of his career. “I’ve received around 10 offers since Kshanam released. I’ve said no to all of them. My parents are aghast. They want to know how I can say no to ghar ayee Lakshmi? But it’s simple, really. Whatever I do now has to take me beyond Kshanam.”
