'I'm a very moody guy'

HARDWORK SPEAKS

Though he is basking in the success of his latest movie Ugramm, Sandalwood actor Murali likes to stay grounded. The young actor spoke to Metrolife about his work in the film and his journey so far.

Ask him about all the hard work that went into Ugramm and he says that the team of every film should work on every character.

“I didn’t know that preparing for a role could have such an impact. My director made me attend a workshop for four and half a weeks to get under the skin of the character,” he says.Murali was happy about losing about 15 kilos for the role till the cameraman of Ugramm told him that he had to lose more weight.

“I didn’t know how to react as I thought I looked great. But then I realised that I could lose more weight and look handsome too; so I worked hard,” he says.

Murali says that he worked out close to five hours a day. “I was a total teetotaller and went on a diet for three months. I also made sure that I ate no junk food at all,” he says. Now that he has lost a good amount of weight, he makes sure that he does his normal workouts to maintain his look.

“I can’t lift weights and do strenuous workouts since I had a back injury a few months back. I do a lot of yoga now and if I miss it, I’m very cranky the whole day,” he smiles.

Talking about movies, Murali says that he maintains a slow pace when it comes to signing movies. “I don’t like to rush. I don’t like signing too many projects at the same time as I like doing one thing at a time. I put in a lot of effort and more than money, loving what I do is important to me,” says Murali adding, “I’m a very moody guy. I don’t like doing things just for the sake of it.”

Murali says he will take nine months to announce his next project. “We’re already working on the script. I’m listening to a lot of scripts — about one a day,” he says.

When Murali is not shooting, he loves relaxing at home. “I hardly get to spend time with family. So I try to give them as much of my time as possible,” he says. His other favourite pastime is watching movies of any language.Every actor should be humble and eager to learn more, says Murali.

“An actor should aim for a better performance during every shot and be truthful to his or her work,” he says. “For every actor, getting into the character is the hardest and most painful task ever,” says Murali adding, “For me, Ugramm has been the most challenging movie so far.”