So you will be sticking with the bad guy image from now?
Well, playing the bad guy will be the foremost agenda but I will still be open to any other good character roles.

How did things work out with Don No.1?
The director Lawrence came with the proposition and narrated me the script. He told me that Nagarjuna will be my co-star and that the main story would revolve around a power struggle between two dons. It was a concept I could not turn down.
I play a global kingpin involved in various criminal activities. He’s the good- looking bad guy. He has an aura of invincibility about him and this character really grabbed my imagination.

How did you cope with working in the Telugu language?
Don No. 1 is my first Telugu film and to be honest I was scared like hell when I first got six pages of dialogues in a language of which I knew nothing. My first shooting schedule was for 6 days and to be on the safer side, I joined one day before. Nagarjuna, Lawrence and the production team helped me learn the language and master my lines. I remember locking myself in my hotel room to learn my lines.

Your film has a lot of high-flying action.
Yes it has. Don No. 1 has a lot of well-choreographed, impressive action sequences almost like those seen in any John Woo or Matrix films. I did a lot of my own stunts and I must say it was a really challenging task. Nagarjuna and I have exchanged real blows in the films and after all those shoots both of us were left with dozens of injuries and bruises.

Beyond those injuries, doing all those high flying stunts must have been an exhilarating experience.
It was, but I am used to it. Participating in death-defying stunts is something I have done before for a television show, Josh. I have para-sailed, been suspended at a height of 7500 feet and jumped onto bridges, so some high kicks and high-flying maneuovres were relatively easy.

Why did you choose to shift your focus to playing the villain?
I have to honestly say that I did not achieve what I had wished for as an actor. I know for a fact that I cannot be the lead actor in commercial films so I have to choose wisely. I have a unique look, one that fits the bill of cold characters, so playing the villains became an automatic career option. Playing the bad guy in Telugu movies is a big thing. Telugu film goers love their villains, they adore them, root for them. The film gives its negative characters a lot of room for development. It’s a big incentive.