Actor Atharvaa Murali has opened up about why he never followed up his appearance in the Telugu hit Gaddalakonda Ganesh with another film in the language, revealing that one major issue disrupted plans that were already in motion.
Speaking at the Hyderabad pre-release event of his upcoming film Idhayam Murali, Atharvaa said he had every intention of building a career in Telugu cinema after Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019). "After we did Gaddalakonda Ganesh, I was going to do Telugu cinema. We had signed a couple of projects in Telugu only," he said.
However, the actor explained that the pandemic altered those plans. He shared that by the time the industry resumed work, he was already committed to completing previously signed Tamil films. "The whole Covid period came, and I had commitments in Tamil where I had to finish that. One thing led to another, and it fizzled out," he said.
Despite the gap, Atharvaa made it clear that he remains keen on returning to Telugu cinema. "Coming back, I would really want to do an out-and-out Telugu film, so I would do that in the near future," he added.
During the interaction, Atharvaa was also asked whether he had ever passed on a film that later became a blockbuster. Responding with a smile, the actor said he never looks at projects that way, adding that for him, every film is simply a film and there's no point dwelling on what could have been.
Directed by Harish Shankar, Gaddalakonda Ganesh starred Varun Tej in the lead alongside Pooja Hegde, Atharvaa and Mirnalini Ravi. The action comedy, a remake of Karthik Subbaraj's Tamil film Jigarthanda, emerged as a commercial success at the box office.
Atharvaa will next be seen in Idhayam Murali, which is slated to hit theatres on July 10. The film also stars Kayadu Lohar and Preity Mukhundhan, with Natty Subramaniam, Ramki, Rakshan, Niharika NM, Dravid Selvam, Sudhakar, Thaman and Pragya Nagra in supporting roles. Fahadh Faasil makes a special appearance in the film.
