Sundeep Kishan On How He Plans To Celebrate His Birthday; 'The Whole World Is Suffering, The Last Thing I Want Is To Party' - EXCLUSIVE

Telugu star Sundeep Kishan speaks on his birthday plans, upcoming movies and more.

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Sundeep Kishan On How He Plans To Celebrate His Birthday; 'The Whole World Is Suffering, The Last Thing I Want Is To Party' - EXCLUSIVE
Telugu star Sundeep Kishan who turns 34 on May 7 is back with a new film Gully Rowdy. In an interview with Subhash K Jha for SpotboyE, he talks about the film and its shooting during the pandemic. Excerpts from the interview here:

How did you celebrate your  birthday?
Yes it's my birthday today. But I am very confused. It can't be a happy birthday. Not with what is going on around us. This is my second birthday during the pandemic . We've been thrown into a situation where we don't have a choice. But it's okay. The whole world is suffering and the last thing I want is to party.

Your fans are excited, though?
Yes, the  wishes are pouring in. That they have found the  enthusiasm to wish me even at a time like this, means a lot to me. The love is overwhelming. Of course  it's not like a normal birthday. But I am here with my family.  Yes, I am feeling positive about  life. I am going out to lunch with a few close friends.

Don't you wish it was a normal birthday?
I am actually very content, Sir, to have what I have. There are people out there who have lost family members. I've my family. And I know that my friends wanted  to be with me on my birthday. To me it's the thought that really counts.

What is it like shooting this film during the pandemic?
This film we started shooting in December 2020. We went into a straight unbroken schedule of 63 days in Vizag. The story is of a small-time gangster in Visakhapatnam. Well, actually he is a reluctant gangster. The world of crime is thrust on him by nepotism.

Sounds amusing?
Yes I hope so. I play a character whose father is  a gangster, grandfather is a gangster. So they try to make  a rowdy(gangster) out of him too. But his heart is  not in it?

Was it difficult shooting through the pandemic?
Somehow when it comes to work I’ve the habit of shutting everything down. Right after the lockdown I completed my last film AI Express. So by the  time I came to Gully Rowdy I was used to shooting through the  pandemic under strict Covid guidelines. We had a start-to-finish outdoor  schedule. We didn’t know when it started  and when it ended.  Honestly I  didn’t even get time to think about  the pandemic.

Is Gully Rowdy going on OTT?
No, this one is a sure-shot theatre release. Every film decides its own audience. This is a mass entertainer  where  the entire collective  audience needs to enjoy the film together. Every film has its own platform. Gully Rowdy is for the theatres. So we will wait it out for as long as it takes for the pandemic to recede.

What made  you take this role up?
The  most interesting thing about my character  in Rowdy is that  I’ve never played such a ruffian  before. It’s always been something more refined. For the  first time I’ve  taken up  a role so tapori. It was  also a very quirky comic rowdy who  doesn’t want  to be  a bad guy. So along with the element of crime there was comedy. That  worked for me. I really enjoyed  this role. I started liking my character. Somewhere I felt sorry about his  predicament.

Do you think the Telugu film industry will survive this  pandemic?
The Telugu film industry has always been safe, no matter what the crisis. The audiences here  are crazy film fanatics and their  loyalties are undivided when it comes to Telugu cinema. They will continue to come and see us. We will continue to make the  films they want.

 
Image source: Instagram/sundeepkishan