43 minutes agoAuthor: Virendra Mishra
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Telugu cinema star Varun Tej is once again coming among the Hindi audience through the film 'Matka'. Before this he has been seen in the film 'Operation Valentine'. During a special conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, the actor told that his father never produced films for him. He also said that managers and talent agencies are not prevalent in the Telugu film industry.
Let us tell you that Varun Tej's father Nagendra Babu is a big producer of Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan appear to be his uncles. Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Allu Sirish, Sai Tej and Panja Vaishnav Tej are his cousins. Despite belonging to such a big film family, Varun Tej has made his mark in the industry on his own. Here are some special excerpts from the conversation with Varun Tej…
Tell us about the film 'Matka'?
The film is inspired by the life of Ratan Khatri, the famous Matka king of the 1970s. How he came to India as a refugee from Burma in 1960. Here's how he became the Matka King. In this his entire journey from 20 years to 60 years is shown. The film is releasing simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages on 14 November 2024.
How challenging is it to play a real character?
This is definitely inspired by the life of Matka King Ratan Khatri, but in this I am playing the fictional character of Vasu. The film's director Karuna Kumar has done a lot of research. We have presented the story of Ratan Khatri in a new style. We did workshops with the director to understand the character. In this you will see glimpses of Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Marlon Brando in me.
Which films of the 1970s do you like?
I started watching movies of the 80s. Initially I have watched a lot of Telugu films. My favorite Hollywood movie is 'The Godfather'. Marlon Brando is an amazing actor. Apart from him, Al Pacino also worked in this film. I like many of his films. The first film I saw in Hindi was Sanjay Dutt's 'Vaastaav'.
More than half of your family is in the Telugu industry. That's why you must have also thought that you want to make a career in acting?
Since childhood, the atmosphere at home was such that there was always talk of films. School holidays were also spent shooting father's films. Whenever I got a chance to travel abroad, film songs were shot there too. Cinema has had such an impact that I had decided that I have to do something in this industry only. The thought of becoming an actor came later. I wanted to try direction first, but it seemed very difficult.
There must have been a lot of support from the family, despite this, what kind of challenges did you face? My dad is a big producer in the Telugu film industry, but he never produced a film for me. Worked for the first time as a child artist in the Telugu film 'Hands Up'. For that, the film's director Shiv Nageswara Rao had talked to dad. After this I debuted with the Telugu film 'Mukunda' in 2014. Whenever the music or trailer of my film is launched, my family members come to support me.
I believe that there is still a struggle for an actor even after the first film. Every Friday the luck of the actor changes. Despite being a hit film, one has to work hard for the next film. The biggest challenge for an actor is to select a good script.
How much have you understood about the Hindi film industry, before which your film 'Operation Valentine' was released in Hindi?
The method of working is slightly different. Managers and talent agencies are not prevalent in our Telugu film industry. If anyone wants to narrate the script to me, they can call me directly. Rest of the process of film making is the same, just the way of approach is different here. People come into the industry for passion, because there are so many ways to just make money.
Have you dubbed the film in Hindi?
Not for this film. Hindi dubbing of the previous film 'Operation Valentine' was done. For that I learned Hindi for four months. But 'Matka' had to be dubbed in only six days. I could not do the dubbing in such a short time, but I have dubbed the trailer and teaser.