Back in the limelight

Ravi Krishna is on cloud nine as his recent Telugu flick Gamyam has turned out to be a blockbuster. The actor is now all set for the release of the remake of Gamyam, Kadalna Summa Illa in Tamil.
Ask him about the movie and his face lights up. ���I play a character called Vetti Vel in the film who is a motorbike thief. Gamyam was a blockbuster and ran for 150 days in Andhra Pradesh bringing me back in the limelight.I am confident about Kadalna Summa Illa too,��� he assures.
���We had earlier tried to rope in Jeeva for the film but he was busy. So, I decided to do the film myself. It is a commercial entertainer,��� he says.
The actor received rave reviews for his last Tamil flick Netru, Indru, Naalai. ���Netru, Indru, Naalai was worth a risk. After a lull in my career, if the film had failed, I would have lost my ground. I am relieved that the film got a good response,��� says the actor.
After having established an identity for himself, that too in his first film, 7G Rainbow Colony, Ravi Krishna���s career did not go great guns. What went wrong? ���7G had all the big names, right from Selvaraghavan and Yuvan Shankar Raja. As far as Sukran is concerned, it ran fairly well even though it was shot on a low budget in just 30 days. Ponniyin Selvan (PS) was critically acclaimed and well received by the audience. It was after PS, that my career graph saw a decline. During this lean period, I watched many Tamil films and worked on my acting skills to preempt any criticism,��� he explains.
Being the son of a noted producer A M Ratnam, was his entry into Kollywood a cakewalk? ���Not exactly. When a newcomer without a film background enters films, the expectations are less. But when star kids like Simbu, Dhanush and I begin our careers, expectations are high. I struggled a lot to live up to people���s expectations,��� says Ravi Krishna.
Unlike other actors, Ravi Krishna has refrained from taking the conventional route of action in his films. Ask him about it and he instantly quips, ���Ellarum massnu pona thamashu yaaru panuva? (If everyone goes for mass movies, who will do light-hearted comedies?) The audience should believe in what I am doing. I have tried action in Kadalna Summa Illa and sustained several injuries. But I am delighted that the film has come out well. I have never used a dupe in any of my films,��� he says. Ask him whether he is ready to join the six-pack bandwagon with Surya and Vishal and he says, ���If the script requires, I am ready to work on it and flaunt my body.���
So, how does he rate his performance as an actor? ���I personally feel that I am improving with every film. I am reading a lot of scripts to get new ideas. 2008 has been the year of underdogs with Subramaniapuram and Saroja turning out to be superhits. In that way, I am pretty confident about Kadalna Summa Illa too,��� he says.
Ravikrishna is known for acting in bilinguals. Ask him whether it is a deliberate act and he replies, ���Frankly speaking, I am bored of working in bilinguals ���Tamil and Telugu. The irony is that I can���t read both the languages. I am now trying to act in Malayalam movies as well and don���t be surprised if you see me in Bollywood in the next two years,��� he signs off.