Quality of films will make it pan-Indian by default: Sai Dharam Tej

CHENNAI: Talking to actor Sai Dharam Tej feels like conversing with your long time friend. His recently-released Telugu film Virupaksha has become a blockbuster at the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana box-office. “Virupaksha’s script came to me in 2019. When we planned to make the film, the lockdown was imposed. In 2021, I met with an accident. So, we commenced the film last year and the verdict is overwhelming,” he says.

Sai has a decent fan-following in Chennai. But he remains grounded. “Chumma solreenga enaku Chennai la fans nu.. Naan nambamaten (You are conning me into believing that I have fans in Chennai). If that is true, I am sure they are in for a thrill ride with Virupaksha. It is a proper murder-mystery with horror elements. The audience consumed a lot of OTT content during the pandemic and we ensured that we give them a content that is universal. That is the USP of Virupaksha. We haven’t kept it region specific and it will be relatable to the audience across the world,” he explains.

While several regional films are being marketed as a pan-Indian film, the team of Virupaksha stayed away from it. Tej says, “Pan-Indian is just a word. I am not here to make pan-Indian films. I am here to give quality films. If you give good content, they will become pan-Indian by default. My upcoming films will be on those lines,” he clarifies.

The actor sums up Virupaksha in one word and calls it, “Crucial. This is the first hit from the second innings of my life. This accident had a major impact on me. Sometimes life shows you some signs. I had to show that I can overcome this and get my life back on track,” He gets emotional and pauses. “I had to do a lot of homework. Before this, I used to get into the skin of my character and be in the zone. This time, I had to act, for the first time of my life. Act brave in front of a ghost. Horror films na bayam enaku (I am scared of watching horror movies). Jokes apart, the film is set in the 90’s and I had to learn the mannerisms of people from that period,” adds the actor.