Uday Shankar: Aishwarya Rajesh treated me like a friend

Mis(s)Match, directed by NV Nirmal Kumar, is gearing up for release on Friday. The family drama with wrestling as the backdrop features Aishwarya Rajesh and Uday Shankar as the lead pair.

Uday, who made a fairly confident debut with Aatagadhara Shiva, is content to have fulfilled his desire to work in a family entertainer carrying a message. "Mis(s)Match is a story of a software engineer, who is ready to sacrifice his love to make his girl friend's dream come true," he tells us.

Born in Jadcherla and brought up in Hyderabad, Uday gave up his career as a dentist to pursue cinema. "I've been passionate about films and acting from childhood. Pawan Kalyan is my idol. I love him so much that we remixed his chartbuster song E manase from Tholi Prema for our film. Our version was shot in a single take and about 400 junior artists worked in it. Kalyan garu was impressed with our work and conveyed his best wishes. I am proud to have received compliments from a superstar like him," says a jubilant Uday.

The young actor is all praise for Nirmal Kumar. "Our director is extremely patient and has great conviction. He identified our strengths and brought the best out of us. He is also an expert in filming mass scenes."

Uday assures that he was not intimidated by Aishwarya Rajesh’s image. "While this is my second film, it is Aishwarya's 25th film. She is a brilliant performer and is the USP of our film. She treated me like her friend to make me feel comfortable. It was a great feeling to share screen space with her,” the actor concludes.