Chiranjeevi, Pawan inspired me: Varun Tej

Varun Tej, who made his debut with Mukunda, a romantic drama that explores student politics in a small town, remains unfazed with the mixed response for the film. In the movie, Varun played a brooding young man,who doesn���t even talk to his co-star Pooja Hegde, but is ever ready to help his friend. He tells Hyderabad Times what he learnt from the film, his uncle, Chiranjeevi, and more.Excerpts from an interview:
You���ve stated that Chiranjeevi is a big inspiration. Is there any particular lesson that you learnt from him?
When I was young, I grew up watching only my pedananna���s (Chiranjeevi) films. I remember having his life-size poster, along with that of babai���s (Pawan Kalyan), in my bedroom and I used to dream of following their footsteps. My father (Naga Babu) used to tell me how hard-working Chiranjeevi is. Once I was on the sets of Stalin, where a song was being shot, I could see him
limping due to knee pain. However, the moment he was expected to face the camera, his dance moves blew me away. He was dancing like a 20-year-old. He didn���t have to teach me anything in
particular.When you hear and see someone in your own family setting a benchmark, it���s inspiring.
There was a lot of buzz about your debut film. Did the criticism bog you down?
I am proud to have done a film like Mukunda and it was a huge learning experience. Prior to my debut, I was interested in knowing what people were writing about me and it got really scary after a point. Sai Dharam Tej told me that I shouldn���t think so much about what others were saying or writing about me. There was no pressure as such, but my father wanted me to become a director. The only time I get scared is when people expect me to dance like Ram Charan or Allu Arjun (laughs). Right now, my focus is on exploring and improving my acting, and choosing good scripts.
Talking about your family, who are you most close to among your cousins?
There���s an age gap between Charan, Bunny and me. When I was a kid, I used to play a lot with Sai Dharam Tej and Srija (Chiranjeevi���s younger daughter). Right now, I am very close to Sai Dharam Tej. Charan and I discuss a lot about my work, and Bunny suggested that I hear as many scripts as I can before taking a final call.That advice helped me a lot.
What did Chiranjeevi have to say about your performance?
He said that I should never look idle in any frame, even if I don���t have a dialogue in the scene. Since it���s coming from him, the feedback has to be spot on (smiles).
You must be getting a lot of other feedback too���
I have had people telling me that they liked my screen presence and my voice, so I guess that���s my strength.To be honest, my characterisation in Mukunda didn���t allow me to go all out in terms of how much I can emote, but all that is going to change in Krish���s film. It���s a period drama set in the 1940s and I���m really excited about what Krish has come up with. And about my gait, Prakash Raj and Ravi Teja suggested that I should take longer strides and some people said that I should lose more weight, because right now, the way I run or walk looks awkward on screen.
We hear you lost more than 30 kg prior to your debut���
More than that, I guess (laughs). I���m a big time foodie and at one point of time, I used to weight nearly 125 kilos and then I lost a lot of weight. I gave up almost everything and for the past six weeks, I have been on a strict diet to get the right look for my upcoming film. When you are 6���3 and weigh more than 90 kg, it���s not easy. For the record, I wear size 12 shoes. I���ve been working on developing lower body strength to improve my posture.
Has your life changed a lot after becoming a star?
I like my privacy. I was completely okay when people didn���t recognise me. I have the same set of friends for almost 20 years now and we hang out all the time. And it���s only now that I have begun meeting more people and talk to them when they approach me for a photograph. It feels good when you get that sort of attention from people around you.