In 2011, a gawky, fresh-faced youngster played the boy-next-door in Life Before Wedding (LBW). Since then, Siddu has evolved from playing nice-guy roles to complex characters in films like Guntur Talkies (2016), Krishna and His Leela (2020) and now DJ Tillu, and earned the reputation of being a performer who can pull off any role.
The actor says the super success of DJ Tillu reiterates the fact that perseverance pays. “We have to keep pushing the limits no matter what, and it’s important we don’t get deviated from the goal,” says Siddu.
He gives credit to his parents for being supportive, and adds that he has been smart too, in signing films that give him financial muscle, while some other actors had to relinquish their dreams for various reasons. So he looks back with gratitude, and asserts that where there’s determination, nothing is impossible.
It’s been a decade since Siddu entered the film industry. Despite his promising start, does he feel that success was a bit late in coming, we ask.
“Define ‘late’” he retorts. Had a super-success like DJ Tillu come 10 years ago, perhaps he would not have been so grounded, the actor says. “Who knows, success might have gone to my head, maybe due to lack of experience. But today, I don’t take myself that seriously,” he asserts.
Siddu feels cinema has changed so much that it has become global and that there’s no limit to content now.
Apart from acting, Siddu is also a screenwriter and has been writing for several of his own films.
“Writing is one of my strengths; if I write a dialogue, I also know how to emote in the right way, using my skills as an actor,” he says. “Success taught me a lot, especially as a writer. In a theatre I can feel when the audience reacts to situations. But I realised that for cinema it needs to be kept simple,” he explains. “Writing is an extension of my personality,” he says, and adds that a writer needs experience, and travelling provides that experience, because you get to meet and interact with people from various backgrounds.
Like Siddu, a few other actors are also writing characters for themselves and are finding success. “If you want to do any character, a part of that role has to be you. So the difference is created at the detailing level,” he says, adding that the trick is to adapt the character to your strengths.
Quirky and wacky characters like the ones in DJ Tillu and Guntur Talkies interest him, Siddu shares. He also understands that actors generally have a preferred genre, but he doesn’t like to be labelled.
