In the past few years, many Bollywood actors have tried their hand at south movies. Arjun Rampal is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, with his maiden Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari that hit the marquee on October 19. The actor was initially hesitant about signing the Nandamuri Balakrishna-starrer as he doesn’t speak the language, but all it took was a meeting with director Anil Ravipudi to change his mind.

“I’ve been offered other south films before, but I wasn’t certain how I would tackle the language. That was my biggest fear. Anil Ravipudi and producer Sahu Garapati came down to Mumbai and narrated the script to me. I liked the story, and Anil’s energy. He assured me that I would get my lines in advance, and that they would send someone to rehearse my lines with me,” says Rampal.

Though Ravipudi offered to have someone dub his lines in Telugu, the actor decided to give it a go himself. “I would ask for my lines, learn the meaning of every word and memorise my dialogues before I came on set. Then I would sit with [my language coach] Rajesh [to better it]. Telugu is a difficult language; each word is [as long as] a sentence in Hindi, and you have to say it fast. I felt that saying my lines would help me emote [better].”

In the action comedy, Rampal plays antagonist Rahul Sanghvi, a business tycoon who locks horns with Balakrishna’s character. It was fun stepping into the role for the actor, who quips, “I have not worn such colourful clothes ever!”

He has done several grey roles in Hindi cinema too. Does he gravitate towards them? “Playing a negative role is difficult and tiring because you have to switch to a mode that has nothing to do with you as a person. You have to create the badness in your mind. You can go to bed more peacefully playing positive characters.”

Working with Balakrishna, one of Telugu film industry’s top stars, was a fantastic experience for Rampal. “In our first meeting, when I went to meet him on his birthday, there were thousands of fans outside his home. As we made our way to the gate and it was opened, the fans rushed in and we were left out. [I noticed that] he met all of them. He is a gentleman, disciplined and enthusiastic about his work.”