Telangana leader Malla Reddy reveals why he rejected Rs 3-cr offer to play Pawan Kalyan's 'villain'

Malla Reddy, a prominent politician and businessman from Telangana who is known for his frequent appearances at Telugu film events and witty speeches, has reportedly rejected an offer to play a villain opposite Pawan Kalyan in the latter’s upcoming film ‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’.

The offer worth Rs 3 crore was extended by Harish Shankar, the film’s director, who made a personal effort to convince Reddy to do the role, said reports. However, the veteran leader and former minister of Telangana did not agree and also explained the reason for his decision while speaking in an interview.

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Reddy's witty take on not playing villain

While acknowledging Shankar approaching him with the role and offering a remuneration of Rs 3 crore, Reddy said he told him that he was not interested in playing the villain. He even said jokingly that if he played that role, he would scream at the hero till the film’s half-time, and after the interval, he would be bashed up by the protagonist. His remarks left both the interviewer and members of his family present on the occasion in splits.

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Reddy said Shankar had tried to convince him for an hour and a half to play the villain. While elaborating his lack of interest in acting, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA responded to the crowd shouting “hero” at him saying he wouldn’t play the hero’s role as people would get bored. Reddy also said that he has plans to produce good films in Telangana.

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‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’, which is produced by Mythri Movie Makers, features Sreeleela in the lead roles besides the ‘Power Star’. It is rumoured to be an adaptation of Atlee’s 2016 film 'Theri' and is expected to be released sometime next year.

Kalyan, who leads the Janasena Party and is currently the deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, has not revealed any other new projects since his most recent appearances in 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu' and 'They Call Him OG' released this year.