'I didn't want to fool myself anymore'

Working Hard

It might sound a little unbelievable when Sushanth says that he stumbled upon acting by chance. It’s hard to believe because it’s coming from someone who belongs to the third generation of a family of actors.

Sushanth, who is the nephew of Telugu superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni, confesses that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to become an actor till he was in the second year of his engineering  at the University of Illinois.

He earned his seat at the University through sheer merit. However, in his second year, he lost interest in engineering and was watching more movies than he should be.

“That’s when I realised that I wanted to become an actor. I didn’t want to fool myself anymore and wasted no time in telling my parents about it but they wanted me to first complete my engineering and then decide if I still wanted to act,” Sushanth tells Metrolife, even as he is busy promoting his latest Telugu project Adda.

Sushanth may be only a few films old but he’s already popular for his dancing and fighting skills. The young actor says that he’s never worked this hard in his life.

“I think I’ve put my all into Adda. Whether acting, dancing or fighting, I’ve trained under the best. I’ve remained focussed on this project. I would say that among all the characters that I’ve played so far, this one has been the most polished,” he observes.

Sushanth has the onus of living up to his family name. While he thinks it’s a privilege to come from the Akkineni clan, he’s careful not to do anything that will tarnish the image of his family. “I’ve grown up on a diet of my uncle’s (Nagarjuna) films. My parents never told me that I must act, the option was always open. I must work really hard to be half as good as the other actors in my family,” he shares.

Sushant has always admired Ranbir Kapoor. “Ranbir has slowly but surely surprised the audience with his body of work,” he adds. As a young actor, he doesn’t want to get choosy with his roles. “I would like to experiment with everything and explore as many emotions as I can as an actor,” he signs off.