Have pushed myself as an actor with 'Speedunnodu': Srinivas

Actor Bellamkonda Srinivas, who concentrated on playing to the gallery in his debut film "Alludu Seenu", says he has raised the bar with his performance in his forthcoming film "Speedunnodu".

"I've tried something unique with this project. Though it has all the commercial elements, there are some solid moments in the film where I've pushed myself as an actor and I'm sure audiences will appreciate it," Srinivas told IANS.

He believes the last 20 minutes of the film, which is a remake of Tamil drama "Sundarapandian", will unleash the actor within.

"The climax portion which lasts about 20 minutes will leave the viewers in awe. Even in the original, the climax, which was the heart of the film, moved audiences to tears. We've made the climax even more powerful," he said.

The climax was shot in a quarry in Kurnool.

"We shot for nearly 10 days in some extreme weather condition. All of us drained in the sun on several occasions. Since it had to be shot realistically, I worked really hard," he said, and added that the film does have the perquisite elements to appeal to the masses.

"This is the kind of project where there's scope for performance. Even the action, unlike how it was shot in my first film, has been treated sensibly in this film. While the first half will entertain audiences with comedy and romance, the second half will sweep them over," Srinivas said.

Directed by Bhimaneni Srinivasa Rao, the film also stars Sonarika Bhadoria, Prakash Raj, Ali, Kabir Duhan Singh and Srinivas Reddy in important roles.

Talking about working with the director, Srinivas said: "Most of his remakes have been a frame-to-frame replica of the original. However, I really liked 'Sudigadu' where he changed so much to suit the Telugu sensibilities."

"We've made 70 percent changes in the remake; however retained the soul. Our version is more commercial than the original," he said.

He will next team up with filmmaker Boyapati Srinu.

"He told me he's writing a script for me. I'm not in a hurry; will wait to work with him," he said.