Super Star Krishna's Dil Se...

Krishna is a happy man today. After 41 successful years as an actor, he says there are no new goals but he just wants to keep acting and bask in the success of his children. Mahesh has become a reason for him to beam with pride as Pokiri is breaking records. The graceful actor looks relaxed and content and rather soft in tone. But when the topic invariably moves to Mahesh...his grin becomes huge, his laugh too. They both come easily and often. In a rare encounter, Super Star Krishna says Pokiri reminds him of his all time great Seetaramaraju and wishes Pokiri beats the film's record. For Mahesh, he has emerged from the long shadow of his father into the glare of his own klieg lights. The father has just one desire...he wants Naani to epitomize the virtues and respect bestowed upon him.

Y. Sunita Chowdhary

I am not surprised about Mahesh's achievement. It had to happen some day. Stardom is something he achieved when he was a child, what's happening now is just an acceptance from the mass. There was a time when producers and distributors complained that his films didn't reach everyone and that it is only class oriented. I remember not having that problem at all because my third film hit the bull's eye. Ditto with NTR. Murari, Athadu, Arjun etc all have a touch of finesse. It happens with every star. Once you give a hit film for the aam junta, there will be no looking back.

Maheshki inka tiruguledhu, he's a star for the next thirty years. He is a natural and what he needed was a right film. There were many films before Pokiri which did well but this one struck the right chord. There are fantastic reports coming in all over. In our city alone we have the film running for 50 days in 18 theatres. I knew the film will be a winner from day one. There were comments that comedy was cheap, it was obscene somewhere, too much gore, second half is okay etc; but I didn't care. Just watch his hairstyle, his looks, and dialogues. The film will run only for Mahesh. As an actor I am very satisfied, as a father very proud. There is hardly any subject in Pokiri and the film is not for the fair sex. But seventy five percent viewership is from the ladies. Children love him and there is a repeat audience.

Mahesh didn't act, he behaved, his performance was so natural. We have had some natural actors like NTR and Sivaji Ganesan but in recent times I haven't seen anyone from the south perform so naturally like he did. Mahesh has evolved a style of his own. As far as the story is concerned I loved the twist in the second half when it is revealed that he's actually a police officer. It was so beautiful. There was hardly any publicity and it helped the movie. It was so thrilling to watch the scene.

I have never advised or counseled my son. He was on his own since he was a child. I remember during the making of Shankaravam when he was eight years old, both of us reached the location. When we alighted Mahesh saw a kid in a similar dress. He went up to some man over there and grilled him as to who he was and why he was wearing the same clothes. The man told him that the boy was his dupe and he would work on some risky shots. Mahesh didn't like this concept at all and wanted to know why he can’t perform his own stunts. He insisted on the boy taking off those clothes and eventually did the work. Something similar happened during the making of Koduku Diddina Kaapuram.

The stunt master was making arrangements for the next day and it was supposed to be a diving shot, on the bike from the bridge. He was eleven then and he heard me warn the stunt master to get the work done carefully. The next day by the time I came to the location the shot was canned. Without my knowledge he came to the location and did his work. It showed on screen and there was tremendous applause in the theatres. Though it feels good as an artiste, I feel very concerned about him. He doesn't listen. Recently he came out of the water unscathed when there was a short circuit and a man lost his life during the filming of Sainikudu. He escaped by just two seconds, he was plain lucky. Some other time a crane fell on him.

While it is a natural passion for an artiste to look realistic on screen, sometimes one has to avoid it by pushing it on a dupe. In my case, in my very first film the dupe refused to do the shot because it was highly risky and I ended up doing it. Well, I am very happy with the way my children have handled themselves in their career and I'm quite proud of them. My other sons are inclined towards production and my daughter Manjula is like a live wire. A workaholic, she loathes relaxing. And finally Mahesh....he will create history, Pokiri is just a beginning...watch out!

Other Dil Se.. articles:
• Asin
• Muruga Doss
• Manodu Ram
• Peter Hein