Will be villain only if it’s a DHAMAKA!

He first made a splash in the Telugu industry with his outing as a righteous, quick-witted cop in Surender Reddy’s ‘Kick’, a film he likens to a ‘Tom & Jerry’ story”. Nearly five years after that, Shaam’s performance in ‘Race Gurram’ is being received with wide applause and is getting him more interesting offers than before, says the actor when we caught up with him recently.

Shaam starts the chat by talking about his relationship with director Surender Reddy, who he calls Suri, and says, “He’s the ‘God brother’ in my life! He is a blessing for my career. I have an emotional bond with him and I look up to him for advice.” He adds that ‘Suri’ has been able to fill the gap that was left behind by his mentor, director Jeeva, who gave him his break in the Tamil industry.

“Working on ‘Kick’ was a great experience but to be frank ‘Race Gurram’ gave me a bigger kick!” says the actor who plays Allu Arjun’s elder brother in the film. When quizzed how the experience was, he says, “Bunny is a dangerous actor (laughs). I was trying my best to ensure that he doesn’t overshadow me. So I became fit and tried to make it look like we were brothers.” “I think this is the best character in Telugu that I have done till date.” When we say that he is limiting himself by playing a cop again and again - ‘Kick’, ‘Veera’ and ‘Race Gurram’ - he is quick to say, “But there is nothing similar. In ‘Kick’ my role is that of a stern, disciplined officer. But in ‘Race Gurram’ there’s a romantic angle for my role and that has actually made this a great experience. I am getting different roles now.”

He adds, “I want to lose that image now! I want to try something different and ensure that I am not stereotyped!” So now that ‘Race Gurram’ has opened new doors, is he considering playing lead roles in Telugu? “See, it doesn’t work like that. In Tamil, I play only lead characters… never a second lead. But here I get to experiment with myself, and I get to work with great directors. Maybe I will try to do some lead characters soon. Let’s see. But if that doesn’t work, Suri sir is always there for me!”

Talking about his ‘Race Gurram’ team he says, “I would say Bunny has filled the void of a younger brother in my life. I have elder brothers, and elder sister and a younger sister too! But no younger brother. He is a great guy and makes everyone comfortable.” “The amazing thing about ‘Race Gurram’ is that even the audiences in Tamilnadu have liked it! It’s playing to housefull crowds and it’s a great feeling. Now that he is ready to experiment, would we be seeing him in negative roles, “Well, it depends on the kind of role. If I do something like that, it will be a total dhamaka. Not the clichéd villain type roles. Something like Ajay Devgan’s role in ‘Khakee’.”