" Naga Chaitanya and I are friends and not cousins"

Coming from a family of illustrious actors, Nagarjuna’s nephew Sushanth is already feeling the pressure of high expectations. With his second film Current all set to release, Sushanth is hoping he can recreate the Box Office success of his debut, Kalidasu.

“People will excuse you for your shortcomings in your first movie, but no one will take you seriously if you don’t improve with the second. Moreover, since I come from a family of actors, I have to make an effort to live up to their image,” says Sushanth.
In fact, the actor feels that other newcomers have it “easier” than him. “It may be difficult for actors from a non-filmy background to get their first break, but there aren’t too many expectations from them. I have it tough here.”

The actor says he is gung ho about his role in Current. “I have played a ‘mass’ role in Kalidasu, where I had to deliver over-the-top masala dialogues. But I don’t want to be stereotyped as a mass hero. I identify myself more with the lover boy I play in this film,” he says.
While the film fraternity often pits him against his first cousin and Nagarjuna’s son Naga Chaitanya who will debut soon, Sushanth says that they dreamed of their film careers together.

“I underwent training in acting, martial arts and gymnastics along with Chaitanya. In fact we rented an apartment in Mumbai and attended these classes together. The only difference is that I started doing films earlier than him. We are more like buddies,” he says.
While Naga Chaitanya may be on his side, Sushanth admits that the fear of competition from the current crop of actors always keeps him on his toes. “There is a sudden influx of young actors in Tollywood. It is a highly competitive environment and everyone is doing their best to survive. Even the audiences have become more difficult to please. They won’t watch a film because the actor comes from a filmy background, they will watch it if it’s different,” he adds.

Sushanth says he can’t help but be excited about his release. “I will watch the first show of my movie in a theatre to gauge the audiences’ reactions myself and get the right feedback. I want too see what parts of the movie makes them laugh and cry,” says the actor.