Prabhas about Darling ......

Prabhas has struck gold with his latest film Darling. He looked cool, modulated his dialogue, danced like a pro and overall entertained family audiences in this Karunakaran flick. We caught up with him, and here’s what he had to say.

Inspiration to do a family entertainer like Darling:

I try to do something different, and when Karunakaran’s told his story, I was into it. I clapped out after listening to the twist in the first half. I was so much into it. Karunakaran told me the full story and I knew this film was going to be good.

On transition from past action films to lover boy in Darling:

Though we try to do something different all the time, there are various other things that have to work for us. It could be the character or the director or script. Luckily all worked for me this time. I didn’t do any preparation or homework for this character. But I knew that the character in Darling is a lot smoother and sensitive than those in my previous films.

We knew right away that the East Godavari accent that worked in Bujjigadu, or Billa won’t work here. But we had to entertain the audiences. So I worked on my timing more! Also I improved my body language. I am glad it worked.

On First Half twist: 

When I first heard the story there were no apprehensions at all. But when we started shooting we began to get doubts. But it was a good thing, as we worked harder. We knew that we were taking a risk with it, but when the first day reports came, I knew our efforts were appreciated. I guess working with the gut feeling works after all.

On the success of Darling: 

I was in Mumbai, when the film was released. Though you get used to it, there are some nerves on the first day. I was glad to know that fans were celebrating. On the first day, when fans party it’s more than success. The fact that family audiences are turning out well is another good thing about the film. It makes you feel satisfied.

On his cool look:

My childhood friend Bhaskar designed the look for me in Darling. We tried to portray the character as a cool going guy. My young fans seem to have loved it completely.

About his dance:

We worked according to director Karunakaran’s plan. He had this vision on how to shoot each song, and we planned our dances accordingly. I completely trusted Karunakaran when he said that it will be his responsibility to add visual beauty to each song.

About music by G.V. Prakash:

Whenever I hear Neeve Neeve song, am surprised with the ability of G.V. Prakash. This tune reminds me of A R Rahman, and for a 23 year old to do it, it is quite appreciable. Though, as an afterthought, we did think that we should have given the audio another week’s time to give its due credit.

Darling’s most memorable moments:

I thoroughly enjoyed doing the second half, and doing the climax song was extremely pleasurable experience. Also for a fight scene, I was running for quite a few days together. It was tiring, but when you see the final product, you know it was worth it!

Working with the producer BVSN Prasad:

It is our second hit after Chatrapathi. He’s a really sweet producer. Now he’s more than just producer for me!

Working with the director Karunakaran:

Karunakaran is an extremely talented guy. He gives us a lot of freedom, and he explains his vision very well. In some situations I blindly followed him. When there is freedom and love, there is scope for good work. Karunakaran ensures complete freedom to the actor.

Working with Prabhu:

He is an extremely talented actor. Knowing that he is son of a great actor, and he himself being a wonderful actor I was in the beginning very apprehensive. But he is exactly like the character in the film - very lovable person to work with. Our timing worked extremely well. He is roundish, and I’m tall. Without him the father-son scenes wouldn’t have been so good.

Feedback from Uncle Krishnam Raju:

Peda nanna was quite happy. He said he liked the film and appreciated my timing. Coming from him those were quite some words!

On forthcoming films:

There are two films lined up. There is one with Dil Raju and Dasharath, which again is a family entertainer. Then there is another one with S.S. Rajamouli.