I took time to understand life as an actor: Roshan

Roshan's next film is a period drama set in 1945 during the Razakar movement. It has football as an important element.

Roshan (son of actor Srikanth) made his debut with Nirmala Convent (2016). After a few years, he was launched as a full-fledged lead actor with Pelli SandaD (2021). And now he’s excited to be part of producer Aswini Dutt’s next film, directed by debutant Pradeep.

Asked about the five-year hiatus, he replies, “I have realised that being a hero is a huge responsibility. I need to have maturity to play the lead. So I took time to understand life.”

He says, “After Pelli SandaD I didn’t want to do any random film. I was game to wait for a story that suits my personality.”

Interestingly, Roshan happened to listen to the script of the new film four years ago when it was written for another actor. “I liked the script even then. I was so surprised and felt lucky that it eventually fell into my lap,” he shares.

Set in 1945 during the Razakar movement, the film has football as an important element. Roshan will commence shooting for the film soon.

Although Roshan hails from a film family, interestingly, he initially wanted to be a cricketer, not an actor. He had played for the U-14 for Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).  But the acting bug bit him when he was part of the Anushka Shetty-starrer Rudhrama Devi (2015) as a child actor.

“Giving up cricket was a tough decision to make, but deep within, I felt that films and acting were natural for me. When I expressed my interest in becoming an actor, my father wasn’t surprised. I think he saw it coming,” says the 24-year-old who is currently pursuing his second year of graduation.

Roshan reveals that he enrolled for a formal acting course at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, New York. On his return, he worked as an Assistant Director (AD) for the Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg.  

“Nothing gives you more experience than being on the film set,” he shares. “As a child I went to several film sets with my father. But I didn’t know what was going on, the efforts, the dynamics of filmmaking. So I wanted to understand what happens behind the camera,” he explains.

As someone who grew up seeing his actor-father’s ups and downs, Roshan says failures taught him to move on. “Feeling disappointed is very natural, but importantly we need to kick on and continue our efforts,” he stresses. His mother (Ooha) was an actress too, and his parents advised him to be composed and balanced at all times. Sports on its part taught him to stay focussed, he shares, adding, “Just as cricket is a team game, filmmaking is a collaborative effort.”

Roshan is passionate about cars and says travelling introduced him to different cultures. He signs off saying that as an actor, he loves to experience various cultures to understand life better.