Venkatesh: I wanted to work with Pawan Kalyan for a long time

'Gopala Gopala is an original concept and the storyline appealed to me.'

'Very rarely does one get characters like this.'

Superstar Venkatesh talks about his new film Gopala Gopala which releases tomorrow, January 10.

Venkatesh’s Gopala Gopala is a remake of the Hindi film Oh My God.

Gopala Gopala is produced by Suresh Productions and Sharath Marar and directed by Dolly (Kishore Paradasani).

It is yet another film where two big stars of Telugu cinema, Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan, come together. Pawan plays Lord Krishna in the film.  

Mithun Chakraborthy and Shriya Saran also star in the film.

Gopala Gopala releases on January 10 and is the only Sankranthi festival release in Telugu this year.

In this short interview with Radhika Rajamani, Venkatesh gives us a peek into the film.

What made you take up Gopala Gopala?

It is an original concept and the storyline appealed to me. Such stories should be told in an entertaining way.

People fear God but we have to tell them to be God-loving. That’s the story in a nutshell.

Very rarely does one get characters like this. The graph of the character is so beautiful. The transformation of the character is nice.

What was working with Pawan Kalyan like?

Over the last 10 years, we have been discussing films. We wanted to do films together but it materialised only now.

I felt connected in a spiritual way with him. This role was apt for him.

He worked hard on it. He had to get the divine body language and look and had to be in that mood.

I am glad he took up this challenge.

What does Shriya Saran play in the film?

Shriya plays a typical housewife. A lot of housewives would identify with her role as it is a homely character.

How was Dolly (Kishore Paradasani) as the director?

Dolly has worked with our production house for quite some time.

Gopala Gopala was quite a challenge for him. He had read quite a bit for it.

How is the Telugu remake adapted?

There are some new sequences so there is some freshness in the script.

The screenplay is interesting. Pawan Kalyan’s screen time was increased.

Mithun Chakraborthy is also in the film…

I have known Mithun for a long time. He has worked in our films. We used to stay in his hotel in Ooty.

He has good memories of the South. He told me this would rank as one of the best characters I have done.

How would you sum up Gopala Gopala?

It is a good, clean film.  Such films should be encouraged. It is a new concept.