Ram Charan tells Karan Bhardwaj that cinema is beyond culture, colour and religion and it’s a racist’s attitude to sideline actors keeping in mind the region they come from
After Dhanush, the other Southern star thrilled with the success of Raanjhana was probably Ram Charan Teja. After all, Raanjhanaa’s fate must have boosted the morale of this Telugu superstar who tries his luck today in Hindi cinema with Priyanka Chopra starrer Zanjeer. The tall and handsome Teja, who also happens to be the son of superstar-cum-politician Chiranjeevi, is the latest export from the South. He finds Bollywood “humble and exciting”. “Industry and its people have been warm to me. It’s overwhelming to work in this side of the country and find so much of support,” he says over the phone. During the shoot, Teja had developed a special bonding with Sanjay Dutt. “It was difficult to stand in one frame and deliver dialogues. But he is really a nice fellow. He would bring homemade food for all of us everyday. I am missing him in person, not just during the promotions,” he says.
The 28-year-old actor says he couldn’t have asked for a better launch pad than Zanjeer. You talk about co-actors and he showers praises on Priyanka Chopra. “It’s important to have a strong person especially in a debut venture. She is a multi-faceted star. She has always been extremely professional. There was a little hesitation when we initially met. During first couple of days, we didn’t talk much apart from the script. However, we got very comfortable during the film,” he says.
Though South has become a big phenomenon in Bollywood, Teja feels there is little exaggeration of the people and culture. “I loved Chennai Express too. But Hindi cinema goes overboard while showing South Indian people. But then, they treat Gujaratis, Punjabis or Bengalis in the same manner. It’s fine as long as you take it as a humour. After all, our regional cinema down South is all about larger-than-life incidents, and this formula is working pretty well,” he expresses.
The reason why he agreed to do a Hindi movie was to meet the larger audience. He believes that actors are global and it’s a racist approach to tag people as per their region. So, he doesn’t plan special strategy to survive in Bollywood. “It was a natural step to do a Hindi movie. After a point, I wanted to have a pan-India audience. I am just looking forward to good scripts. I cannot be holding a mike and say I know good Hindi, so you can accept me. I think audience appreciates talent. It’s being a racist to say, ‘Ye South India se hain toh ye nahi kar payega.’ Cinema is above culture, race and religion,” he says.
He also dispels rumours about him working in Karan Johar’s film. “I was never offered any Hindi movie before Zanjeer. For the forthcoming projects, it’s too to early to make any announcements,” he clarifies adding that he is open to all kind of cinema. “I think everything from masala entertainers to serious-subjects are working at the box office. The audience has become more mature. If films like Chennai Express become blockbusters, then Barfi! and Kahaani also create an impact. There is no harm in experimenting today,” he says.