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Varun goes solo

Role callVarun Sandesh

The effervescent and young Varun Sandesh is all charged about his upcoming film Kottha Bangaru Lokam, in which he debuts as a hero. As Chandu in Happy Days he did get his share of good reviews earlier.

In a chat with Metro Plus, Varun says, “I’m putting my best foot forward and improvising, asking my directors what exactly they want from me. It feels pretty strange that I’m going to have two releases soon.”

Nineteen-year-old Varun is from Orissa. He moved to the US when he was a child and grew up on a diet of films. Though a movie buff, he never thought of joining movies till he saw an advertisement given by Sekhar Kammula asking for fresh faces for his film.

He sent his pictures along with a video clipping, which featured him enacting a scene, and mailed it to the director. That’s how Happy Days happened. Now that ninety per cent of Kottha Bangaru Lokam is done, he has begun shooting for a new film by AVM Productions.

Varun came to Hyderabad without completing 12th standard and later went back to complete it after the release of Happy Days. He recounts how his friends were apprehensive about him leaving his studies mid way and warned him about the vagaries of the film industry. Today they are one happy lot.

After watching Happy Days they feel he should pursue his career in acting if he is keen. He adds, “I am toying with the idea of doing either pre-medicine or business management but looks like I’ll have to take a decision soon. Balancing studies and a career in films is an impossible task especially if one is not based here.”

The actor says he is blessed with wonderful parents as not many give their child freedom to act in films especially when they are in the final year of school.

He quips, “I feel gratified when I see my parents and grandparents happy with my decision.” Varun stays with his grandparents and cousin while his father shuttles between the US and Hyderabad to oversee his films. He adds, “I haven’t seen my mom since March. But yes, I talk to her over the phone daily for more than an hour.”

Though Varun was in the US for 15 years, he had lived initially in Vijaynagar Colony for four years. He feels very much at home in Hyderabad and most of his spare time is spent watching films at home or at the Playstation. About his approach to acting, he says, “I’m just a beginner and there is a long way to go.”

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