Safe & Successful Venky

Venkatesh is known for playing it safe in the industry. And that explains why every second film of his is a remake either from Tamil of elsewhere. If it is not a remake it is a home production. Is it because he doesn’t trust the directors?

No, not that. There are two reasons why he takes the safe way out: one, he doesn’t want to take the audiences for granted, and two, he doesn’t like his producers to lose money.

The actor bares his heart to a journalist in Bangalore, where he had gone to take part in the Dasara celebrations. Says he matter-of-factly, “I know my limitations as an actor. I never make films on extravagant budgets and I always play safe with my subjects.

My main aim is to give a minimum guarantee to my producers — they should never lose money because of me. So, I try and be as honest as possible when it comes to my work. I’m aware of how much business I can fetch and that’s the formula I stick to.”
 
Now that he is 46, and facing stiff competition from the younsters, he is doing a rethink on how to redefine his role as a Tollywood hero. And he has plenty of ideas too on how to go about it.

“Most of my films have been love stories, so now I think it’s about time I played some mature roles. I want to make a film based on a fat guy and a thin guy… I’ll play the fat guy.”
 
Hope the other three — Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and Nagarjuna — too did some soul-searching and opt for a change of image before the audiences give them the boot. (Guest: Venu)