How different is your film ‘Rajahyogam’ from all your previous outings?
All my earlier roles that I played were all performance-oriented ones. Take my first flick ‘Pressure Cooker’, ‘Odela Railway Station’ and ‘#Bro’ that was released in OTT, they were action-oriented flicks. ‘Rajahyogam’ is the film where I happen to use all my skillset. Right from my childhood days I always dreamt of becoming an actor. Later, when I realised the dance talent that I have in me, I took it to the next level and became a professional dancer. And then I learnt another skill, martial arts. So I happened to use all these skills in this film. It’s a full-length entertainer. Usually, the romance element is used to tease film lovers, but in ‘Rajahyogam’, of late, I wanted to try intense romance rather than restricting myself to regular boy-meets-girl romance.
How do you justify the title ‘Rajahyogam’?
Sometime or the other, we all might think about how our lives would change if something happened abruptly. How the fate of a person gets changed if something good happens in his life. It’s the story of a mechanic. He wishes to live the life of a billionaire just for four days. How unknowingly gets trapped ina Rs 1,000 crore jewels scam. The comedy is slapstick. It has a good character arc. Romance and comedy are on the same level.
How did you get convinced with the story when Ram Ganapathi narrated the story?
“Director Ram Ganapathi earlier worked in the animation field. The way he looks at things. His ideology looked funny sometimes. These days realistic films have become in vogue, but as an actor, I like to do larger-than-life onscreen stories. ‘KGF’, ‘RRR’, the classic back in time ‘Yamaleela’, ‘Aditya 369’, ‘Evadi Gola Vaadidi’ are the film that I loved as a kid, when I listened to Ram, I felt this sort of mindset required to make slapstick comedy. Director Ram has a smooth flow. Rather than giving much thought to logic, he wanted the film to be a complete entertainer.”
How did you relate to the character car mechanic in the movie?
“Now that I’m an actor, I am getting to enjoy the luxuries of a hotel suite and good food. Otherwise, I am a typical Hyderabadi youth. Growing up in the lanes of Begum Bazar near Secunderabad, mischievousness is inherent in me. For a youngster who grew up as a mechanic, watching the life of a billionaire is astonishing. He bumps into an attractive woman. She thinks that this man is rich enough to experiment with. How both deceive each other in their own style is the story.”
Upon working with female lead Ankitha Saha.. “It was great working with young talent Anktiha. The most challenging part of the film for me is doing intimate scenes. But it is as difficult as attempting a life-threatening stunt. It is not that I haven’t done kiss sequences. I did ‘HashtagBro’ and ‘Pressure Cooker’ and I am also doing it in the upcoming movie ‘Circle’ directed by Neelakanta. Not so easy to pull off those romantic scenes.”
Speaking on upcoming projects, Sai Ronak says, “The film ‘Circle’ is an intense thriller. ‘Popcorn’ is one of my upcoming movies and it stars actress Avika Gor as the female lead. A fantasy flick under the banner Usha Kiran Movies waiting to go on floors. So I’m not restricting myself to one genre. I’m trying to show variety in each one that I am attempting.
