Exclusive! Sushanth: Five years ago, I may not have had the confidence to do Maa Neella Tank

Actor Sushanth may be the grandson of ANR and belong to the most illustrious Telugu film family, but even that cushioning didn’t spare him from the turbulence and the unpredictability of the industry for a long time. Kalidasu marked his entry into the industry in 2008 but it took Rahul Ravindran’s slice-of-romance Chi La Sow in 2017 for him to discover his true calling as an actor.

From the decision to play a character role in Ala Vaikunthapurramulo to his digital debut with Maa Neella Tank and bagging a role in Ravi Teja’s Ravanasura, Sushanth has never been more unpredictable with his choices. He’s calmer, more secure and free from any baggage. “I am driven and yet content,” are the words he uses to describe this phase.

Ahead of Maa Neella Tank’s release on ZEE5 on July 15, Sushanth, in a chat with OTTplay.com, is in a mood for self-reflection while being equally optimistic about his future.

You belong to a family that has been an integral part of eight decades of Telugu cinema and there are lots of them to look upto. Amongst the big names in your own family, was it a challenge to not be overwhelmed and listen to your inner voice?

Definitely, I look upto a lot of people in the family but it has taken me a long journey to find myself. It’s only in the last five years that I’ve matured with my script selection, trying to be different and not stick to any particular trend. I figured that, in the past, along with many other factors, I was trying to please everyone. I thought that I was expected to do certain things to please our family and well-wishers.

It had come to a point where I wanted to go with my gut instinct and I felt they’d like that too. It took me time to understand that not every film will be liked by everyone. I am just taking one step at a time, picking projects that I like and help me grow as an actor. I love the song-dance routine but I want each project to offer something new to me, just like Ravanasura or Maa Neella Tank.

Kalidasu released in April 2008. You’re officially into your 15th year in the industry. Do you feel any wiser?

It genuinely doesn’t feel like 15 years because I’ve finished only 9 projects and just started my 10th. I just lost track of time. I was never part of the rat race and only tried to pick projects I liked. The gaps between my films may seem huge now but it was never intended. There were many external factors, for instance, I put one and a half years of my life into a project that was shelved for reasons beyond my control.

I’ve learnt things in the industry the hard way. I realised it was important to have plan B always. (I honestly never had one, but it helps to have an alternative). 2022 is the first year that I’ve ever worked on two projects simultaneously since the beginning of my career and both of them project me in a new light.

Do you think Chi La Sow changed it all? One could sense the conviction in your performance, unlike in any of your films before.

It’s a film that taught me it was okay to trust my gut instinct without trying to subscribe to a pattern. Chi La Sow was the first time I let loose, it was the first time I wore shorts for a film, there were no action sequences or filmy dance numbers - I broke all my previous patterns with the film.

It gave me the confidence to try something out of the box, that’s why I did Ala Vaikunthapurramulo (even though I wasn’t the main lead), Ravanasura and an OTT project like Maa Neella Tank (a show set amidst a rural backdrop which I have never done before). I liked all the scripts when I heard them. As long as I believed in what I took up, I felt it was okay to break patterns.

One must be secure as an actor to take up something like Ala Vaikunthapurramulo right when you’re trying to establish yourself as a solo lead…

Honestly, I didn’t take much time to say yes to Ala Vaikunthapurramulo at all. I spoke to Trivikram sir during the writing stages and liked the plot. He wanted to give me another narration with a full-fledged script but I told him it wasn’t necessary. I wanted to work with a big director like him, learn from Bunny (Allu Arjun), Tabu ma’am and gain experience from working with an ensemble cast. Eventually, some scenes were trimmed for the film to work and I took it in my stride. The visibility was huge. Those close to me felt that they wanted to see more of me but I am grateful to the film for the reach it has given me. A lot of people went and watched Chi La Sow after Ala Vaikunthapurramulo, it got me a Sprite ad later, further validating my choice.

It ultimately helped you bag Ravanasura too...

Yes! Unlike Ala Vaikunthapurramulo, which I saw as a one-off experiment, I took time to say yes to Ravanasura. It was an unexpected call, I loved the script and I liked how they moulded my role according to my persona after a series of discussions. I had asked them a couple of questions after the script narration and the team was game to hear me out and it gave me the confidence to take it up. It is completely different from what I’ve done in Ala Vaikunthapurramulo. I am looking forward to it. Ravanasura and Maa Neella Tank are projects that gave me complete satisfaction.

How did you give your own spin to the cop role in Maa Neella Tank? The industry has set so many exaggerated stereotypes about the way cops behave and talk…

The script, written by actor Suresh and his wife Rajashree, itself is very unique and it has terrific dialogues by Kittu Vissapragada. It came to me when the project was greenlit by ZEE5 already. Everything fell in place quickly. I loved the plot idea and read all eight episodes at a stretch. I came on board immediately and the role was in stark contrast to my image - I was playing a cop, the story is set in a village and I had to speak the Chittoor slang. I hope I did justice.

Two days from this shoot were clashing with Ravanasura but I requested them to let me finish this in a single stretch. The start-to-finish schedule helped me get into the role well and the team didn’t want anything to disturb my momentum. The writing was brilliant and I got a lot of freedom to improvise, add something more to the script and came up with quirky one-liners. I enjoyed the process but the confidence comes from the audience too. When they like your work, you get the confidence to push the boundaries. Five years ago, I may not have been confident about playing this role.

Tell us about your observations on small-town life where everyone is curious about each other’s business. Did you find it amusing, especially that you’ve been raised in a city all your life?

I think even in cities we’re equally curious about each other's lives, it’s just that in villages, people are more open about it. In villages or let’s say in Maa Neella Tank, you realise you live in a small world, unlike cities where you have enough distractions. I play a police officer who’s new to the village and I’m dying to leave already. The beauty of web series is the time you get to understand the characters and fall in love with them as time goes on. Unlike films, web series draws you into its world organically.

What made you say yes to Maa Neella Tank?

I was offered a lot of web shows in the past, I don’t know what made me say no. I somehow felt they weren’t the right projects to kickstart my digital innings. When Maa Neella Tank came my way, I didn’t care if it was a web show or a film, I knew I had to be a part of it. Unlike Hindi or English OTT space, Telugu stars are yet to embrace this medium fully. I felt this is a time that the Telugu digital space was growing and I wanted to be a small part to push the bar further through Maa Neella Tank.

In an earlier press meet, you talked about the director Lakshmi Sowjanya asking you to open up as an actor prior to the shoot. Tell us more about it…

Lakshmi Sowjanya came on board because she fell in love with the script and did the show right after Varudu Kaavalenu. That I hadn’t done anything like this before motivated everyone - right from Sowjanya garu to ZEE5 - to showcase ‘Sushanth’ in a new way. Just before we went to shoot, she told me that a lot about the show is dependent on the energy and the body language I bring to the sets. It was a quirky, funny, sarcastic role - a mixture of everything.

She said that I had to break the shackles and come out of my ‘sophisticated, urban’ youngster image. She told me that people from small towns aren’t conscious of how they look or behave and asked me to stay free from all inhibitions. I told her that I was a fun-loving, jovial person with my close friends and felt I could do justice to the role when I land at Cheerala. She wanted me to get into that zone before the shoot. Two or three days into the shoot, it came to a stage where she had to tell me, ‘Stay the way you are, you don’t need to open up anymore.’ I felt very happy that I could live upto her expectations.

The show’s appeal lies in how the ensemble cast brings those vivid, colourful characters alive. What was it like to work with these names, big and small?

It was fun for a major part, except for some intense scenes where we needed to buckle up. Other than that, I truly enjoyed watching other actors do their roles. Priya Anand not only had to speak Telugu but pull off the Chittoor slang. Watching her, Divi, Sudershan, Vasu, Prem Sagar and Nirosha garu perform was a memorable experience. While watching the entire show, you remember every character clearly and everyone gets the time to make an impact. I and Priya may be the face of the show to the outside world, but everyone will have their own favourite character as they watch it. I was very comfortable being part of an ensemble cast and I am aware that it takes a good team to make a script like this work.