Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Poised for stardom

Ram finds Y.V.S. Chowdhary's `Devadas' as his ticket to fame

LOVER BOY Ram woos the camera with Ileana

With lead role in Y.V.S. Chowdhary's Devadas Ram is flying high. He sees Devadas as his chance for fame, glamour and mainstream stardom. "Of course, I want all of that. Who doesn't? I'm working towards it," he says.

What was it like working with director Chowdhary for the first time? "Y.V.S. Chowdhary knows what he wants. He's calm by nature. Having made successful films in the past of the same genre with the same production house, he shares a certain comfort level with his artistes on the sets. Fortunately for me, who was new to the group, our wavelengths matched and we got along well together. He is a very confident person and can handle any situation. " says Ram.

"I am in the entertainment industry and I think it is the right time for me to experiment," says Ram. Seventeen-year-old Ram is still a high school student and has the experience of participating in a couple of skits and play reading. A regular at the Oxford University Press in Chennai, Ram showed his inclination for theatre and cinema right from his childhood. His uncle Ravi Kishore coming from a production background in films is just incidental. Ram had acted in a Tamil short film Adayalam, which was chosen for the Euro film Festival four years back. It was held in Switzerland and the young man won the best actor award.

Fairytale end

How did he bag the role in Devadas? "The director had seen my pictures at my uncle's office and that's how I got into the field." He adds, "the film has nothing to do and is no way similar to the Hindi magnum opus. My beard is just for that mature look. The film has a happy ending and there's plenty of comedy and 11 lovely songs."

He has only words of admiration for his co-star Ileana. "She's brilliant. It's mind blowing for someone of her age to be so spontaneous, understand the director and add value to the role," the on screen `Devadas' observes. A large portion of the film has been shot offshore, in US and Bangkok. Any memorable moments? "Of course, We've shot for a one and a half song in Phuket Islands in freezing temperature. We had to wake up at four in the morning and travel by boat. Even a half hour would have made a difference because of the high tides in the sea.

The sea was very rough and we ran a risk of capsizing. I developed a taste for Thai food. In US too, we had great fun."

Ram wants to work in films and at the same time continue his academics. While balancing this act, he says he is not in a hurry. "I won't do stuff just because it will keep me busy or give me money. I have age on my side. I read somewhere, `the life you live is the choices you make'. So I am being careful while choosing," he sums up

Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail