Conquer your fears…

When Vijay Deverakonda  wanted to be an actor, everyone reminded him that his father hadn’t been successful in the profession. “I was told that I wouldn’t be successful either, or earn money from films,” Vijay recalled.

The actor revealed that he, however, wanted to give it his best shot. “I mostly think on the lines of ‘Why can’t I do this?  Why can’t I release a film in four languages? Why can’t I promote a pan-Indian film?” he said.

Asserting that fear will always be there, As our parents and elders are always cautioning and telling us how to behave or not to behave,” he said and stressed that the response should be to face and overcome it. “I know the impact I have and that people are watching my films now,” he said, adding that he sees it as his duty to change a generation. Expressing the view that children should be allowed to do whatever they want, he said, “I feel it’s important; otherwise, we will continue to be afraid and not go forward. He added that his success has inspired many young people.

Vijay’s film World Famous Lover is releasing this Friday to high expectations. The actor is romancing four leading actresses, and has announced that the film will be his last love story. Why this decision?

“I am changing as a person”, explains Vijay. So, what is the change?

“You will see that in my new phase as an actor and a person in three months. I know the kind of cinema I am doing already, and the kind of stories that I want to tell.”

The actor says different kinds of love stories have been pretty much covered in World Famous Lover.

“The Yellandu facet, featuring a couple not much educated, is a very unique kind of love story. When I heard about it, I was very excited. And then there is another facet which is the other end of the spectrum, set in Paris. A guy leading a company falls in love with a foreigner. The other episode is a college love story,” he reveals.

He adds that he’s “very satisfied” with these different love stories.

Elaborating on the Yellandu facet, Vijay says it was a bit of struggle for him as he couldn’t get under the skin of the character, Seenayya, initially. He managed to get it right by referencing his father. The actor said he has childhood memories of his father wearing a lungi, and used that memory to get body language and speech patterns right.

When asked to comment on people comparing his latest work with Arjun Reddy, Vijay says he’s happy that the comparison is to a hugely successful film that will be remembered for generations.

Talking about his last film, Dear Comrade, which tanked at the box office, he says he’s still proud of the movie. “It was a story I wanted to tell,” he adds.

Referring to his upcoming film with director Puri Jagannadh, he says “Yes, it is my official Hindi debut. It’s a film for which I prepared a lot, physically and mentally.”

The Geetha Govindam star states that he takes responsibility for all his films, whether they succeed or fail.  “Every decision of mine is totally my responsibility,” he insists.

Asked him about the trolls and memes about his outfits, films and scenes, the Pelli Choopulu star says “I love them, because the conversation is around me. If they upload a picture or a video, they have to think about me a lot, so I am on their minds. I am very happy about that. I also love constructive criticism.”