'Virata Parvam' hits the cinemas on June 17. In this interview, Naveen Chandra talks about his supporting character in the Rana Daggubati-Sai Pallavi starrer. He has played a Maoist in this Venu Udugula directorial.
He talks about working with Nandamuri Balakrishna (NBK107) and Ram Charan (RC15), besides giving an idea about his other upcoming projects.
Although you see the Maoist backdrop prominently in promos, 'Virata Parvam' is essentially a beautiful love story with amazing action sequences. The stunts have been done by a Hollywood stuntman named Stephen Richard. The cinematography, the forest backdrop, and everything else are top-notch.
My character and Priyamani's character are close associates of Rana Daggubati's character. We are idealistic and are committed to the principles of Naxalism. We drive the story forward. Sai Pallavi's beautiful love story with the male lead turns violent.
We shot the film in Vikarabad forests, among others. The atmospherics are authentic. Raghanna is the name of my character. He is a seasoned rebel who is unemotional and doesn't succumb to pressures. He stands up against the might of the police and the government. Due to in-group fighting, his stature is brought down. Ravanna and Bharatakka are the names of Rana's character and Priyamani's character, respectively. Venu Udugula's writing is superb!
This is the first time that I have mouthed the lines in Telangana slang. It was not easy at all. I had to sound like a proper Naxalite. Folk literature had to be studied. The director ensured that everyone's dialogue delivery is realistic. In one of the scenes, I had to shout at the top of my voice in the forest. We ran the risk of provoking elephants to trace us. There are bomb blasts and a lot of other high-voltage moments in the film.
The film is based on a couple of true incidents that Venu Udugula witnessed first-hand. The incidents disturbed him.
My character is prominent for 35 minutes of the movie. Sometimes, us three main characters had to run for half or one kilometer. I had to keep myself fit. Acing the slang was another major challenge. The language was new to me. Most of the Naxals are knowledgeable, educated and humane. 'Revolution is an act of love' is the caption of 'Virata Parvam' for a reason. The revolutionary path may have harmed them but they are well-meaning.
All characters act around Vennela (Sai Pallavi). She headlines the story. The incidents narrated in the film are going to excite the audience.
Rana, as a person, has a child-like mentality. He is a jovial person. He might look domineering and all on screen. Off-screen, he is a lovely person. He keeps himself abreast with all happenings in the film industry.
Every actor likes to play lead roles. Where I can shoulder the huge responsibility, I am doing lead roles. Otherwise, I am playing a variety of roles. I have to thank my directors for choosing me. They think of me to play their dear characters. I feel responsible when I am playing their beloved creations.
I shot for quite a few OTT releases during the pandemic. They have been released one after one. I didn't want to lose out on opportunities during the lockdown. That's why I grabbed all the good offers that came my way from streaming platforms.
I had feared that 'Aravindha Sametha' might end up me being stereotyped. Fortunately, that didn't happen. In 'Ghani', too, my character is not one-dimensional. In Ram Charan's 15th movie, I have got a role with two dimensions!
'Ammu' (an Amazon Prime original), a UV Concepts feature film, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual project, and 'Parampara 2' (a Disney + Hotstar web series) are among my upcoming relases. I am doing a film under the direction of Srikanth Nagothi of 'Bhanumathi Ramakrishna' fame. FTII alumni from different parts of the country are working on the film. The technical output is going to be superb.
Ram Charan-Shankar's movie is there. Nandamuri Balakrishna garu's 107th movie has me in a nice role. It's a never-before experience working with him. He is an amazing human, an amazing actor! I have shot for 11 days and have some portions pending to be shot. There are five defining characters in the film and I am playing one of them.
Punctuality and the right attitude will take you a long way. People will respect you if you have them. I am doing multiple projects simultaneously and no production house has ever caused any trouble.
