Haven’t been used to my full potential: Allu Arjun

By Haricharan Pudipeddi

Chennai, May 13 (IANS) Actor Allu Arjun, who is basking in the phenomenal success of his latest Telugu outing "Sarrainodu", says he hasn't yet been used to his full potential and that there are many genres and different subjects that he would like to explore.

"I feel I haven't been used to the fullest of my potential. There are so many genres to explore and diverse subjects to work on," Arjun, one of the top cine stars in Telugu film world, told IANS in an exclusive interview.

He also feels he has restricted himself to one industry, thereby losing out on opportunity to work with directors from other languages.

"In the next five years, I am keen on expanding my base as a pan south Indian actor. Since most of our films cater to crossover audiences, I think it's time we make films for multilingual viewers. If 'Baahubali' could rake in over Rs.200 crore, it was only possible because it was released in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi," he said.

"There has always been a market for bilinguals. It's just that we have realised it late, but I'm glad filmmakers are finally open to the idea. I'm really looking forward to work with directors from Tamil and Malayalam film industries," said Arjun, who will next team up with Tamil filmmaker Linguswamy for a yet-untitled Tamil-Telugu bilingual project.

While he remained tight-lipped about the impending project, he said: "I like new challenges. Working in a new industry will open the door to new horizons. Recently, I was in Bangalore to promote my film and the reception I got there took me by surprise. With such unprecedented support, I see it as a great industry (Kannada) to explore."

On a career high with three back-to-back blockbusters, Arjun's "Sarrainodu" is unstoppable at the ticket window, having recently grossed over Rs.100 crore.

Commenting on the successful run of his film, he said: "I just hope this momentum doesn't stop. The pressure to succeed has considerably increased as people will now expect my next film to do much better."

Even though the masses loved the film, it didn't elicit positive response from the critics.

"You can't expect critics to appreciate all kinds of cinema. They are intellectual, well read, so I don't think they can understand this film," he said, adding what really matters to him finally is whether he is given a good film or not.

He also said there's a strong reason why he did "Sarrainodu".

"I've always wanted one of my films to be in top five grossers across all areas in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Although some of my films are in the top league in Telangana, I couldn't create a similar impact in Andhra Pradesh. 'Sarrainodu' helped me achieve it," he said, and added that the film stands next to "Baahubali" in terms of overall revenue share across most areas in Andhra too.

"This film has served the purpose 200 percent," said an elated Arjun, who also has a yet-untitled Telugu medical thriller with director Vikram Kumar in the offing.

"Vikram and I are attempting something that hasn't been done in Indian cinema before. It's too early to talk about it," he said, assuring to share more information closer to the film's launch.

(Haricharan Pudipeddi can be contacted at haricharan.p@ians.in)