Actor Nikhil Siddharth, who is busy promoting his upcoming film, says "Shankarabharanam" (also spelled "Sankarabharanam") is going to be the biggest release of his career.
"Shankarabharanam" completed the censor formalities three weeks ago and obtained a U/A certificate by the Regional Censor Board. The film has a run time of 2 hours and 26 minutes. It is gearing for a grand release in over 600 cinema halls across the globe on 4 December.
Nikhil Siddharth has scored back-to-back hits with "Swamy Ra Ra", "Karthikeya" and "Surya vs Surya". But none of them was released in more than 500 theatres. Now, he is thrilled over the massive release of "Shankarabharanam". The actor hopes it will become the biggest opener and highest grosser of his career.
With such big screen count, the actor is confident of reaching audience in remote villages too. "This film itself is releasing in a bigger way — in more than 600 screens. It's the biggest release for me till date. Also, I am reaching some remote villages with this film," Deccan Chronicle quoted Nikhil as saying.
Nikhil Siddharth is probably the only young Telugu actor in recent years who has dared to experiment with each of his releases. "For me, the budgets will work out and more than that I don't have an image, so I am not afraid to experiment. For the big stars, it's the budget and risk factor but nowadays, many big actors are also coming up with different subjects," the actor told the daily.
"Shankarabharanam" is different from formulaic Telugu movies. "Everything about this film is 'fresh'. It is an attempt to convey a message to lovers of Telugu films that we are also capable of making a different cinema, stepping out of the formula. We can compete with Bollywood films like Kai Po Che or Delhi Belly and raise the bar," The Hindu quoted Kona Venkat as saying.
Nikhil is playing a typical NRI in "Shankarabharanam", and has put in a lot of effort to get into the skin of his character. "Before the film started, I shaved my head in Tirupati and left for the US for 45 days. I joined the New York Film Institute for a small course and at the same time observed the body language of NRIs. I also bought my outfits there," the actor told Deccan Chronicle.
