Exclusive! I Was Apprehensive About Signing Pailwaan As I Do Not Look Like A Wrestler: Sushant Singh

Sushant Singh, a popular name in Bollywood and the Hindi TV industry, made his Kannada debut with the eagerly awaited Pailwaan, which arrived in theatres today (September 12, 2019) amidst much fanfare. The film, directed by S Krishna, features Sudeep in the titular role and this is its biggest highlight. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with FilmiBeat, Sushant opens up about working with 'Deepanna' in the Sandalwood biggie, his future plans and more.

Tell us about your role in Pailwaan.

I play a royal, who is a professional wrestler. He is not a bad wrestler per se but cannot digest the fact that somebody can be better than him, which leads to his downfall.

What encouraged you to give the nod to Pailwaan? How was the experience of working with Sudeep?

I was very apprehensive about doing Pailwaan as Kannada is not my language. Moreover, I do not look like a wrestler. However, after a few discussions, I gave in. Sudeep was the biggest factor behind signing Pailwaan. I had seen his work in Eega and Phoonk, and wanted to work with him. In fact, when Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) was making Phoonk, he showed me a rough cut of a promo featuring an intense close-up of Sudeep, which I liked a lot.

How did you overcome the language barrier?

The first two days were difficult. I did some homework but it was not enough. Sudeep and Krishna helped me. In fact, Sudeep was so humble that he started prompting me, which boosted my confidence. Thanks to them, I even managed to dub my lines for Pailwaan.

Shifting the conversation to Tollywood, why did you stop doing Telugu movies after your initial run in the industry?

I did three movies (Dubai Seenu, Daruvu and Ragada) around the same time but stopped thereafter. I got a few more offers but said 'no' as I wasn't sure whether I would be able to justice to myself as an actor. However, after the Pailwaan experience, I am confident about dabbling in other languages.

On a parting note, do you follow South cinema on a regular basis? Any favourites?

I haven't been able to watch many South films, of late, apart from Baahubali, which was a phenomena. I also watched Enthiran and 2.0.