Ramabanam star Gopichand reveals why he had to opt out of director Teja’s female-centric film

Regardless of hits, flops or his stature in Telugu cinema, Gopichand is an actor who enjoys immense goodwill among his industry counterparts, thanks to his no-nonsense approach to work, merely focusing on his job without landing in pointless controversies. He’ll be next seen in the family entertainer Ramabanam, written by Bhupathi Raja and directed by Sriwass that releases on May 5.

Ahead of Ramabanam’s release, the makers planned a unique promotional interview today where Gopichand interacted with director Teja. The duo had earlier collaborated on films like Jayam and Nijam. The previous year, the actor-director were to collaborate for a female-centric film, which didn’t materialise owing to a few issues. They finally opened up about it in this chat.

Teja, being his candid self, said that Gopichand even stopped attending his calls when he was finding it tough to finalise the female lead of the project. The actor had eventually signed Ramabanam and opted out of Teja’s film. “I still remember the day I received your call while I was at the gym. As an actor I knew I couldn’t carry the film on my own shoulders. The story is largely dependent on the female lead,” Gopichand said.

The director lauded Gopichand for his honesty. “I think you’re the only actor in Telugu cinema who can admit you can’t shoulder the film. That’s why you’re unique and it’s this genuineness that lands you in trouble regularly,” Teja responded. When Gopichand’s debut film Tholi Valapu flopped at the box office and didn’t have any offers, it was Teja who brought him on board for Jayam.

Post the success of the action romance, Gopichand didn’t have a reason to look back. “I still remember what you (Teja) told me after Jayam. You didn’t want me to sign many films as a villain and said it had the scope to become something bigger,” the actor said. Interestingly, Teja assisted the actor’s father and director T Krishna in the 80s. Teja also revealed it was his respect for T Krishna that made him sign Gopichand for Jayam.