Young guns game for variety

Handsome actor Sharwanand, who is known for his soft lover boy image, turned a gangster in his latest release 'Ranarangam' to showcase his evil side. "Sharwanand got his look and gait right for the dark role.

He made the transformation of a bootlegger into a dreaded gangster believable with his subtle and nuanced performance," says distributor Balusu Rama Rao, who feels that Sharwanand is game for variety.

"After a dark role, he is doing the Tamil remake '96' which will be yet another challenging role for the young gun," he adds.

Similarly, another young actor Adivi Sesh, who has become a specialist for suspense thrillers these days.

"Adivi Sesh scored big with 'Evaru,' wherein he plays a cop, but he is not aiming for larger-than-life image, rather wants to do roles with substance in refreshing scripts, in his own inimitable sytle," says distributor Tummala Ram Mohan Rao, who pats Adivi Sesh for becoming a bankable star after initial hiccups. "His confidence in himself and content-driven movies, has made him a sought-after actor," he adds.

No doubt, new-age Telugu stars are in a mood to experiment these days. Young hero Bellamkonda Srinivas, who burnt his hands with big bang action movies, tasted success when he played a believable character in his latest release 'Rakshasudu'.

"Bellamkonda Srinivas decision to do the remake of Tamil hit movie 'Ratsasan' helped him to break away from his clichéd roles. Instead of bashing up dozens of goons, he uses his brains to nab the serial killer and his low-key performance and down-to-earth role fetched him the much-needed hit after a slew of duds like 'Saakshyam' and 'Sita'. Heroism is not always about flexing your muscles," says distributor Vamsi Kishore.

After Jr NTR in 'Jai Lava Kusa,' Varun Tej is donning a negative role in his upcoming film 'Valmiki' to change the game of Telugu heroes, who are struck in stereotyped roles.

"Varun Tej's daring decision should be welcomed because the hero need not be good samaritan always, he can also win laurels in a swashbuckling negative role. Besides expanding his acting range, he could break the monotony of cliched lover boy and action roles ," points out distributor Babu Rao.

However, a popular director has a different take on hero-turned-baddies, "Young turks are exploring varied roles.

Instead of repeating themselves, once-in-a-while, they can visit the audience in a 'new avatar' but it shouldn't become a norm, since stakes are high on the films of popular Telugu stars." he concludes.