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Making an impact
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Meet Srikanth, the handsome, new hero of Tamil movies. VIJAY GEORGE engages him in a friendly tete-a-tete.
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THIS HANDSOME hunk is every inch a star. And interestingly, he is well aware about it too. Srikanth feels that "cinema needs a different body language and mind frame."
After making a smashing impact with some top-notch hits, he is looking forward to his next big break right now. With some exciting projects in the pipeline, he hopes to continue with the dream run in the tinsel world.
Though he originally hails from Chennai, Srikanth has spent most of his time as a kid in Hyderabad.
When did he know that acting was his forte? "I was really fascinated by the appreciation that my father, who was actively involved with the theatre, received when he performed on the stage. Though I had acted in lots of plays during my school days, my attention turned to fashion shows by the time I reached college. I have walked down the ramp with some of the models that have got into films later on, like Trisha and Gayatri Jayaram. It was after I got noticed as a model that film offers started coming my way. Rojakkoottam gave me the perfect start in films."
Srikant remembers that when he went to meet Sasi, the director of the film, with his photographs, the power went off and he was asked to come the next day. "But just after a few minutes, I got a call from his office. He had seen my pictures by then and was impressed. When I met him again, he asked me if I would be interested in a two-hero project. It was okay for me, but I told him that my role should have some substance. Later I realised that he was evaluating my attitude and the role was mine."
There were rumours about his shift to action flicks and then, the return to romantic roles of late. His comments? "Even I have heard about it. But they are far from the truth. This happened after my films like Jhoot, Varnajalam and Bose. I believe that an actor should not be typecast in a particular slot and I am trying to do a wide variety of roles. With the release of Sathurangam, which is a love story in an action background, I hope all such rumours will end."
He has his hopes pinned on K. V. Anand's Kana Kandein and Fazil's Tamil venture for which he is currently shooting in Kochi.
While in school, Srikanth had hoped to make it big as a cricketer. "In fact, I shifted to Chennai to join the MRF Pace Foundation. But things did not happen the way I would have liked," says he.
Ask Srikanth about the girls swooning over him and he laughs, "I would be lying if I say I don't like the attention. Come on, all these come along with the hero tag."
The rumour mills are working overtime, linking Srikanth with some of his co-stars. Is there any truth about all those talks? "Why one or two, I am in love with all of my heroines. Seriously, when you do love stories, people tend to imagine that the pair should be having an affair. But there is another aspect too. As they say, you are linked to your heroine only when your film is a hit."
And, the hero turns more serious. "Those who cook up these stories never spare a thought about the plight of these girls. It can affect their personal lives in a much bigger way than it does to a hero."
If he is not sweating out facing the camera and the arc lights, Srikanth loves to hang around with his friends, play squash or listen to music. "I love Hindi film songs, western singers like Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, George Michael and of course, Illayaraja and A. R. Rahman."
What, in his own assessment, makes Srikanth, `special'? As he adjusts the cute, dark pair of sunglasses that he wears, in comes the reply, "I am seen by the audience as the boy next door whom they can relate with."
Clean bowled, by the hero?
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