‘Akshay Kumar rejected me twice, had to request Sudha Kongara to convince him,' recalls Kannappa star Vishnu Manchu: ‘Couldn't afford his fees'
Telugu actor Vishnu Manchu is all set to release his dream project, a mythological drama — which the actor calls our history — Kannappa on June 27. For his film, the actor has included several A-listers from different film industries like Prabhas from Tollywood, Mohanlal from Mollywood and Akshay Kumar from Bollywood. While he is friends with actors Prabhas and Mohanlal, who easily agreed to do the film, it was a task for Vishnu to reach actor Akshay Kumar. 'He rejected me twice,' shared the actor in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN.
Vishnu, who apart from playing the lead role, has also written the film had visualised Akshay in the role of Shiva. 'When I was writing the film, I couldn't help but see him in that role. His body structure with a jatta, gives a divine appearance,' said Vishnu to SCREEN. However, it took him several days and months to convince Akshay to take up that role which now will mark his Telugu film debut.
'Akshay Kumar rejected my film twice. Later, I approached him through filmmaker Sudha Kongara when they were shooting for Sarfira. I told her, 'I really want to cast Akshay as Lord Shiva, please talk to him once'. She spoke to him and convinced him to get on a phone call with me,' said Vishnu.
Recalling his phone call with Akshay Kumar, Vishnu shared, 'He was like, 'Hi Vishnu, what is it?' I was like, 'Sorry, Mr Akshay for talking to you on phone.' He then asked about the role. What was supposed to be a five-minute call, ended up becoming a 45-minute conversation. At the end of it, he said, 'Pehli baar mai script phone pe sunn raha hu (For the first time I am listening to a narration over a phone call)'. I apologised and said, 'I am truly sorry for this, I am in New Zealand. If only I was in India, I would have personally come and met you.' He said, 'No, don't be sorry. I am glad you spoke. Let's meet whenever you are here.''
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After spending eight months in New Zealand, Vishnu came to India in March. 'I showed him everything we shot. He loved it and then we shot his part in April.' While most of the shooting took place in New Zealand, the makers shot the sequences featuring Akshay and Prabhas in Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad.
In the same conversation Vishnu also shared how the Bollywood star charged a lot less than his standard fees. 'I told him I might not be able to afford your standard fees. He charged a lot less than his usual fees.'
Speaking about his experience working with the star, Vishnu shared, 'Akshay Kumar is extremely professional and sincere to his work. He is very punctual and strictly follows his schedule. He never extends shoot. If he has given a certain time, he will come on that time and leave on that time. We had to respect his working style. What was the best about him is that, if once he entered the set, he wouldn't leave or step out even for a bit.'
Kannappa is a pan-India film, produced by veteran actor and Vishnu's father Mohan Babu. The film also stars actors arat Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Arpit Ranka, Brahmanandam, Saptagiri, Mukesh Rishi, Madhubala, Aishwarya Bhaskaran, Brahmaji, Devaraj, Raghu Babu, Siva Balaji, Sampath Ram, Lavi Pajni, Surekha Vani, Preity Mukundhan, Kaushal And Adhurs Raghu in important roles. Kannappa is reportedly made on a budget of over Rs 200 crore.
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