31 May 2020
Hyderabad
Vennela Kishore is an award-winning actor with over a hundred roles in his kitty. It seems there is no character he wouldn’t suit and no situation he couldn’t make better with his impeccable comic timing. Of course the audiences love him and so do film-makers. But there is something not many of you know about him – he overcomes agoraphobia every time he steps out of his house to give us some of Tollywood’s best performances.
What were your best moments during lockdown?
I was genuinely at peace during the lockdown and didn’t miss the outside world. For 54 days I didn’t step out of the house. Luckily at my apartment we were getting groceries delivered and I had someone reliable person who was picking up stuff for me. Not even a single day I felt like I was missing something.
Is there a more serious issue behind this?
I have agoraphobia which basically means that I have trouble interacting with new people. It is a type of anxiety disorder that I’ve had since I was in my plus two. I can’t interact with anyone if I don’t know them and I’m not comfortable with them. If someone takes a picture or video of me in public I tend to flee away. If someone invites me to a party and I don’t see that person as soon as I enter, I would actually run away. My friends make sure to come a little earlier because they know I can’t manage alone in a new place. People might think in a different way if I reveal this now but it’s always been there. Even my family, they never take pictures with me because I clam up.
How did you manage when you went out?
You will never see me in any parties. The last time I genuinely partied was at Samantha’s wedding. After that I didn’t go anywhere. If I go out with someone he should be with me always. You might think that right now I’m happily talking on phone, but if we meet in person I would be extremely silent. I would be out of topics or giving one word answers to everything. I’m extremely quite on movie sets also. Only with some people like Kalyan Ram, Rahul Ravindran, Sai Dharam, Sam, Lavanya, Hebah I’ll be talkative and making jokes. Otherwise I’m like a child on the first day of school. I won’t know how to act, talk. Of course there are always many sides to people; we are different with friends, different with family, and someone else with strangers.
How do you deal with being on location?
Almost 90% of the time on sets I’m quite because I can’t have conversations with new people. Initially I had issues because of this. After Vennela people believed I could generate comedy. But when I was cast after that, like on the sets of Bindas, I was very quiet because I didn’t know anyone. At the time I had a portable PSP so I would sit far away from everyone and play. When people came to me I would stand up, greet and very obediently I would assure them, “Yes Sir, I can do it Sir.” People were doubtful about my comedy generating abilities because the role of Muddu Krishna was very dramatic. I’ll be very grateful to Veeru Potla sir because he believed in me and reassured them that I could do it. Later on I got a couple of good roles but in those early times when I would sit quietly they thought I was having a bad day. They would ask if there’s any problem with the production etc because I looked dull and I would say, “No everything is perfect!” I had to convince them that’s how I am.
Have people gotten used to it now?
I finished 130 movies, I’m very grateful for it. Now many people know me, so they know I’m like that on sets. Earlier people used to think I had attitude. Now it’s a compliment because I’m known as the no nonsense guy; I’m in the good books.
Tell us about your tryst with yoga.
I tried yoga umpteen times but it didn’t help me much. I felt it’s boring. When people like Sam and Lakshmi Manchu say that yoga is life changing, I used to feel odd about it. Just letting you know this is not a paid promotion but I found ‘Yoga with Adrian’ which has 30 guided videos in a month. Randomly I searched on Google for best home yoga videos and it popped up. For 54 days I’ve been doing yoga non-stop. That is a huge achievement for me personally. There were many asanas I thought were too difficult for me but after 40 days my body changed. Yoga changes your posture; you can sit on the ground and get up without holding onto anything; you won’t feel stressed about physical strain, and you feel lighter overall.
Did you have any realisations during this time?
We always have many goals in life; we need a certain amount of things to be happy. But I realised that for me to be happy I just need tiny amount. I have a 3Bhk apartment, so if I can get some groceries weekly, data to watch movies, and books to keep me busy, I’ll be able to live happily without stepping out. Now I feel like why am I struggling so much to earn a lot when I can be happy with basic stuff? I’m not a traveller so I don’t miss that either. Watching a nice movie and eating nice food is happiness for me. In the future, even if I lose a movie I think I won’t regret it because I’m in a happy place now.
What skills have you picked up during the lockdown?
I can wash dishes in a better, faster way. Also, I realised anyone who washes dishes gets back pain from standing at the sink. After 2-3 days of this I started searching about why I was getting back pain. I found a solution for it. When you wash dishes, you need to get a 6 inch stool, put one leg on it, and do dishes. You will never have an issue.
What else have you been doing during the last couple of weeks?
I would say I spend 6 to 7 hours a day on Netflix. That’s something I love to do all the time. I’m pretty much planning to email Netflix to put out more series. I’ve watched everything; the only thing pending is Lucifer. At night I’ve been watching West World on Hotstar.
- Maya Nelluri
