The name Viswant may not ring a bell with the regular Telugu movie viewers but Siddharth from Kerintha and Abhiram from Manamantha will definitely make the audience go, "Where has this young chap been all this while?"
Viswant, now gearing up for his much awaited release Jersey, alongside Nani, says that the 3-year-break was deliberate and that he was waiting for the right movie to make a comeback. So does that mean the actor has become choosy now?
“Haha, choosy? That’s a big word. I am just being careful that I don’t end up doing every movie that comes my way,” Viswant says.
Viswant, who is an engineering post-graduate, shot to fame with his first movie Kerintha, back in 2015. Kerintha followed the trajectory of any ordinary Telugu romcom which traced the lives of five childhood friends studying in the same college. But for Viswant, the movie was a shot in the arm and was well-received by the audience too.
“I was in the US doing my post-graduation when I gave my auditions for Kerintha. I used to wake up early in the morning at 2-3 am and give audition via Skype and teleconferencing. Most of my communication with the film crew happened through e-mails and only when my role was confirmed, I flew down to India to begin shooting for the movie,” the 25-year-old shares.
Soon after the success of Kerintha, Viswant got his big break with Manamantha, which was a trilingual directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti. Viswant acted alongside Mohanlal and Gautami in the movie and it went on to become a box-office hit in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil.
“Manamantha happened right after I returned from the US and getting to know that Mohanlal was a part of the film in itself made it huge for me. Despite being such a big name down south, he is one of the coolest actors I have ever worked with. I still remember how he introduced himself to me and said he was Mohanlal, actor in the Malayalam industry. I was dumbstruck because, come on, who doesn’t know Mohanlal! The set of Manamantha in itself was a learning experience for me because of the extremely talented set of actors it had,” Viswant says.
After Manamantha, it was raining offers for Viswant. But we next saw the actor in Crazy Crazy Feeling, which fizzled out at the box-office, and then a five-episode web series, Nee Mee Kalyan, in Telugu. Explaining the three-year-break, Viswant says, “Kerintha was an experimental film and being my first, there wasn’t such a sense of responsibility in giving the audience my best. Kerintha happened because the director was ready to take a chance in casting a complete set of newbies and I think the risk was more on his side than ours. But after Manamantha, my outlook towards the industry changed and now every movie that I get on board, there is a big responsibility of giving my best on screen.”
A still from Manamantha
Viswant is all excited about his next release Jersey which is hitting screens on April 19. Playing the role of a cricketer alongside Nani, Viswant tells us about the training he underwent and the number of re-takes that perfected the cricket shots for the movie.
“I underwent training for two weeks before we began shooting for the movie. I've been a cricket player and have represented school for many tournaments. But yes, since that was so many years ago, I had to take extra practice to get the shots picture perfect for the movie. You know, every shot in a film where the hero strikes a sixer or the player on the field makes a perfect catch, it’s no camera trick and is all done by the actors on the pitch until they get the shot perfectly done. It meant a lot of re-takes until each stroke had a professional touch to it,” Viswant explains.
Speaking about his part in the film, Viswant says that he has done the role of Nani’s co-player in the movie. “In the first part of the movie, we are bitter rivals who keep picking a fight with each other. But in the second half, there is a sense of bonhomie and the players understand their folly and reconcile. With this role, I will be touching a different territory that I haven’t explored as an actor since Kerintha,” Viswant adds.
Being only 2-movies old and having no godfathers in the industry, Viswant considers himself lucky to have got opportunities to act with big names in the film circle. But luck isn’t enough, the actor says, adding, “Passion and patience are also equally important. There are many newbies who enter the industry every year and vanish without a trace. I think along with passion, it’s important you have the patience to wait for the right role and not act in every movie that comes your way. And it’s not every Friday that a good movie is made. Offers may chase you but only the right roles will help you stand out here when the competition is cut-throat.”
Apart from Jersey, Viswant has three more movies in the pipeline in Telugu. Asked whether he fears being stereotyped in the roles of a chocolate boy who madly chases his lady love, the actor laughs and replies in the affirmative, adding, “That’s one of the main reasons that I turned down many offers that came after Manamantha. I have been doing roles that suit my body language. If you ask me what my dream role is, it is to play the role of an underdog who exacts revenge against the villain. Why should every 20-year-old man be falling in love and chase women in every movie?” the actor signs off.