I wanted to gracefully move on to mature roles: Venkatesh

Venkatesh’s 75th film, Saindhav, an action thriller, showcases how a father (played by Venky) takes care of his child, who has lit up his life, experiencing both joy and pain in the process. “It’s an emotional journey, which is why I have taken it up. It’s been quite some time since I have done such films. When I heard the narration I instantly gave my nod,” says the actor.

According to him, the Sailesh Kolanu directorial is also a slick and stylish entertainer with realistic and high-voltage action sequences. “The film gave me a chance to be part of a new-age emotional thriller. I thought it was an honest attempt,” says Venky, adding that Saindhav shows the protagonist’s emotional struggle against a system and his personal journey. The teaser and the poster have created a lot of curiosity about the film, especially Venky’s makeover. The actor has for the first time grown his hair and beard, and sports a salt-and-pepper look. “I wanted to gracefully move on and start playing mature roles, so that directors and writers start looking at different roles for me. I am enjoying it,” says Venky. “I have been trying to look for a space like the one where actors such as Bruce Willis have gracefully done action films,” he adds.

He expresses gratitude for the unconditional love of audiences during his 38-year-long career. “I feel lucky to have come this far, so I don’t have any complaints or regrets. I have done films in several genres over the years and it has been a satisfying journey,” he says, adding that people have been nice to him.

Venky belongs to the rare category of spiritual actors. He says his spirituality has helped him stay detached after every film. However, he acknowledges that it requires a lot of preparation. “What I learnt is that while it’s easy to put in effort and deliver, accepting the results (good or bad), and moving on from there is challenging. It needs a lot of preparation and practice. The attitude develops slowly,” he says and shares that it’s an organic process which he has been undergoing for many years.

“This detachment I learnt from my father (the late legendary producer Rama Naidu) and brother (producer Suresh Babu); they learn lessons and move on very quickly,” he says.

His spiritual side also helps him stay calm, says Venky.

“The old samskaras (practises) help me to identify the true energy,” he explains, and adds that after experiencing the energy he believed he was capable of much more. “I started identifying more with the ocean and not with the waves,” is how he puts it. The desire to do more develops gradually, he says. “You get only what you deserve, so don’t compare. Mindset is the key here,” he asserts. Several years ago, he discovered a need to know his true self, and that led him to the teachings of sage Ramana Maharshi. “I am trying to strike a balance between being modern yet spiritual and enjoying universal energy.”

Actors have to constantly reinvent themselves to stay in the game, but Venky says his mantra has always been to keep things ‘easy and very simple’. Actors are also continually looking for validation from the outside world, but Venky feels this is only a temporary acknowledgement. “Just stick to your efforts,” is his advice.  

Did this belief help him avoid controversies, we ask. “I really don’t know,” he smiles. “Maybe I didn’t take things so seriously. I always like to be myself and mind my own business.”

Venky is one of the few senior actors to do multi-starrer films with today’s heroes like Mahesh Babu, Varun Tej and even his nephew Rana. He says he loves working with youngsters, as the energy that he gets from them is different. But surprisingly, his OTT debut Rana Naidu, (alongside Rana) earned him negative reviews. Considering that Venky holds the tag of ‘family hero’, many were shocked by the cuss words his character mouthed.

“Yes, it came as a surprise but soon people got over it and started to embrace my transformation. Perhaps it was a little overboard,” he says.

In an interesting revelation, Venky says he never had a ‘dream role’ because he hadn’t planned to get into acting in the first place! “But I know I have much more in me to deliver and the hunger for greater performances keeps pushing me,” he shares.