Sumanth: Acting is the only thing I know and can do reasonably well

Sumanth discusses his new Telugu film Anaganaga, his passion for acting, script-first approach, and upcoming projects.

“Good roles are rare, not the work,” says Sumanth, who will next be seen in Anaganaga, a heartwarming Telugu film streaming on ETV Win from May 15.

On a laid-back afternoon at his Hyderabad home, Sumanth is relaxed and chatty. Fresh from a Thunderbolts screening, he is the kind who spends hours at the movies, either in a theatre or at home. “I watch films or series for four to five hours a day. I just watched HIT 3 too,” he says.

If he is not watching them, he is reading scripts. “Don’t be fooled by the books around; lately, it’s been all scripts. I prefer reading one over listening to a narration before saying yes to a project.”

Since his debut in 1999, Sumanth has stuck to his script-first instinct. “People used to be surprised I even asked for scripts. But I have always felt they are essential, especially in films that are dialogue-heavy, which most of ours are, except the big spectacle ones like KGF, RRRor Baahubali.”

He says it usually takes him about 10–12 pages to decide if a script has promise. “Honestly, it has been a 10% success rate since my grandfather’s (Akkineni Nageswara Rao) time. I read around 30 scripts and maybe three or four are worth it. I only agree when I believe in the script and trust the director. Luckily, I am not in a place where I need to work just for money.”

Anaganaga, adapted from the Marathi film Eka Kaay Zala, came to him via producers Rakesh Reddy Gadam and Rudra Madireddy, and ETV Win. “At first, I was not sure. I am not usually up for remakes, especially now when audiences can just stream originals. But three months later, they returned with a reworked version that really landed. It reminded me of how I felt when I read Malli Raava.”

He plays Vyas, a school teacher who turns tricky lessons into stories for students with learning challenges. “He is criticised for his methods but sticks to them. There is also a lovely father-son thread woven in.”