Varun goes solo
The effervescent and young Varun Sandesh is all charged about his upcoming film Kottha Bangaru Lokam. He is for the first time making his debut as a hero. As Chandu in Happy Days he did get his share of good reviews but he says this film makes him excited. In a chat with Varun says, “I’m putting my best foot forward, improvising if and when it demands, asking my directors what exactly they want from me. It feels pretty strange that I’m going to have two releases soon.”
Nineteen year old Varun is from Orissa. He moved to the US when he was still a child and grew up on a diet of films. Though a movie buff he never had the idea of joining movies till he saw an advertisement from Shekar Kammula asking for fresh faces. He sent his pictures then enacted a scene on a video camera and mailed it to the director. That’s how Happy Days happened. Now ninety percent of Kottha Bangaru Lokam is done and he has begun shooting for AVM Productions too.
Varun landed in Hyderabad without completing 12th standard and later went back to do it after the film released. He says his friends were apprehensive about him leaving his studies mid way and warned him about the vagaries of the film industry but now they are one happy lot. After watching Happy Days they now tell him that he should pursue his career in acting if he has set his heart in it. He adds, “I was toying with the idea of doing either pre medicine or business management but looks like I’ll have to take a decision soon. Balancing studies and a career in films is an impossible task especially if one is not based here.”
The actor says he is blessed with wonderful parents and not many give their child this big a freedom to decide if they want to study or do movies especially when they are doing the final year in school. He quips, “It feels gratified to see my parents and grandparents happy with my decision.” Varun stays with his grandparents and cousin while his father shuttles between the US and Hyderabad to oversee his films. He adds, “I haven’t seen my mom since march but yes I do talk to her over the phone daily for more than an hour.”
Though Varun was in the US for 15 years, he had lived initially in Vijaynagar Colony for four years. He feels very much at home in Hyderabad and most of his spare time is spent watching films at home or at the Playstation. About his approach to acting, he says, “I’m just a beginner and there is a long long way to go. As of now I’m working towards bringing a right balance between emotion and technique.”
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/08/25/stories/2008082550520100.htm
