Ramcharan Teja: “After 10 Years  Of Acting I Needed A Complete  Change.”

Telugu superstar Ramcharan Teja admits he is more anxious about his new release, director Sukumar’s Rangashthalam than  any of his films  so far.

 Not that he has  not been  challenged as an actor before.
Says  the softspoken Telugu superstar, “Even in my last film Dhruva where I played a a cop I had to  beef up for the part. I built the body that the film required.Unfortunately  Dhruva  came  at the time when the country was  hit by demonetization. My audience  was just not in the mood to spend on  movie tickets. So  Dhruva suffered, yes. But never mind. I am as proud of that film as I am of everything I’ve done so far.”

Ramcharan admits Rangasthalam is a new beginning for him.  “After ten  years of acting I needed a  complete change. I have to constantly challenge myself as an actor.And what bigger challenge than this  film where I play a real-life character who is also deaf.It’s a completely different  zone of  performance for me.Hopefully my audience is  going to be as excited by me makeover as  I am.”

The superstar of Andhra who made his acting debut in 2007 , says Rangasthalam was  a first  for him on many levels. “I’ve  never played a rural character before. In fact I had never stayed in a village  before, though I’ve  visited  my native village with my father(Telugu cinema’s legend  Chiranjeevi)  a few times.  But this was my first exposure to rural  life. We actually went and stayed in the remotest  town on the map of Andhra Pradesh where there was no network for mobile services,  no luxury hotels. Nothing to remind me of my metropolitan  existence. We had to rough it out. The entire  process  of acclimatization   changed my attitude to the process of acting.”

Ramcharan also spent considerable  time  understanding  his character’s physical  disability. “I spent  five  months understanding the character’s body language and  his  hearing disability . Since  I had never played a rustic character before I wanted to ensure I got it right. I didn’t want my portrayal to look  superficial.”

He is  full of praise  for the team of Rangasthalam. “I have to admit that  the  script itself  was so  coherent and  comprehensive  it made my job easier.I also had a fabulous  co-star in Samantha Akkineni. Without her ,my performance  would not have been possible.She is truly one  of  the  best co-stars I’ve worked with.”

 The  young actor hopes his  fan base  would be as charmed by  his  makeover as  he is . “We are  giving the  film as big and wide a release as  my other films.  I  hope the audience gives it the same love and appreciation that they’ve always  given to my films. Am I anxious for the   change of image? Not anxious. Because change is  imperative for an actor.With Rangashthalam I’ve entered  a more realistic  phase of acting.  I hope to do more such  roles in  future.”

For now the best endorsement for his  new avatar comes from Ramchararan’s father the great Chiranjeevi. “He saw some rushes ofRangasthalam and he felt I had nailed it. To me that was  the most satisfying moment  since I took up this challenge. Now I  look forward to the audiences’ response.Hopefully my journey into a   new phase would be as smooth as it has been for the  first ten years.”