Bishnu - New kid on the block
I met Bishnu on the sets of Naalo Tolisariga. He is a regular patron of TotalTollywood.com and immediately recognized when I mentioned TT. We ended up sharing our ideas and discussing about many things during the shot gaps. There are very interesting things about the way he made his entry into the industry. I just could not stop appreciating his passion for movies.
Bishnu is presently in US doing his masters in construction management from University of Cincinnati. He came to USA a couple of weeks back after finishing a major schedule in Hyderabad to wrap up his studies.He completed his BE and made it to US for MS. It is not in his complete interests though. He is always inclined on getting into movies. Up on his parents suggestion that he should fulfill their wish first before embarking on his path of adoration. So he made his way to US knowing that he will truly return back to India for good after MS to fight his way into movies.
"Even though I am here in US, I did not give up. I kept balancing my interests and that of my parents. I came here for Masters in the fall of 2002. I used to take Acting workshops that were offered at my university along with my other Engineering credit hours and it was lot of fun. I went to India in 2003 December on the pretext of vacation or nostalgic. But the true intentions were to try my luck in films. Incidentally, When I was in University of Cincinnati I became good friends with Krishna, who is the brother of Vishnuvardhan , the current hotshot director of Tamil film industry and Krishna suggested me to meet his brother who stays in Chennai. So when I went to Chennai I met vishnuvardhan and he said that there was some kind of spark in me and encouraged me a lot. I am good friends with him now. Also, I was in touch with Mani Ratnam's assistant director during my stay in India. I got some insight into film making from him".
After a month stay in India, Bishnu came back to US continuing his winter semester. Nevertheless, his penchant for movies pulled him back again in 2004. He visited India during summer and again tried his luck. His parents advised him that he should complete his MS before getting into movies. During 2004 November, he visited on the pretext of vacation again. Only this time he met with luck. He spent 8 months reaching out to people and talking to them.
"I happened to meet Bhanu Vijay, my director, and he said he has a story for me that will fit my body language. So things started falling in place and I am happy that my struggle finally gave me good result. So all the credit goes to my Director for giving me the break ."
Speaking about the movie Bishnu says, "Naalo tolisariga is cute romantic love story about a young guy who is son of a billionaire but prefers to live a simple life. His father wants him to use his Mercedes car and go to the pubs, have girlfriends but his son is a devotee of Lord Hanuman and stays away from girls and works in a small marketing agency. He prefers to drive his old scooter. How circumstances force him to meet different girls and what happens next is rest of the story. It's a total comedy entertainer with love elements in it".
Looking at the name, initially I was fooled that he is from North. But surprising he spoke fluent Telugu. "I am born and brought up in Hyderabad. Few generations ago, my ancestors moved from Nepal". That explained his name. "Though few people suggested me to change my name I felt that I should retain my own name and my director Bhanu also advised that I should continue with this name. He felt that this raises the curiosity and also is variety".
He further adds, "When I was looking for roles, I got lot of suggestions including name change, growing moustache etc. They said I should have a moustache to be a Telugu hero. But things need not be always the same", says Bishnu with a confident face.
Telugu film industry is now seeing lot of heroes with at least some support from the filmi background. So what is Bishnu banking on? "Intuition", he says, "I want to make a mark in the industry. My part is doing my best. Take success or failure as it comes. Rest is left to god. I had an intuition that I will get into films some day. I did not know when and how. But here I have a chance and I will give it my best shot". He further adds that now all his friends are happy for him.
This trend of NRI involvement is growing in the past few years. Sekhar Kammula is the best example that made is mark in the industry. Most of the team of Vennela are NRIs. After seeing directors, actress, producers and music directors in NRIs, now it is the turn to become heroes.
Bishnu has a message for all the aspiring individuals and TT visitors - "Chase your dream. That is what life is all about".
You can send your feedback, comments, suggestions to Bishnu by bishnurules@totaltollywood.com.
