I took up the role as a challenge: Upendra

In his latest film 'Godfather', Real Star Upendra has not one, not two, but three different roles. And while the actor has been waxing eloquent about how varied the characters were, the most challenging, according to Uppi was getting the body language and other nuances of a rather effeminate trained bharatanatyam dancer right. And if industry reports are to be believed, the character has become a big hit among audiences. In fact, the buzz is that one of the highlights of the film is the actor's bharatanatyam dance performance to an AR Rahman number, 'Nannede Shrutiyolage Olavina Naadavide Gelati', and that audiences are comparing it to the late Soundarya's dance recital as 'Nagavali' in 'Apthamitra'. And Uppi is elated.

"I took over a month to master the nuances of the dance form, but I am happy that my effort in learning the expressions of a dancer has been appreciated. It is an honour that my performance is being compared to that of Soundarya in 'Apthamitra'," says Uppi.

Being a classical dancer, the character is also effeminate, which for the normally macho Upendra was a challenge. And he gladly took it up. "I had a master who came home and taught me bharatanatyam for a month. I got all the expressions and body language right only because of him," says Upendra.

Meanwhile, according to the film's distributor N Prasad, 'Godfather' has been doing brisk business at the BO. "The film's collection has proven that we have got back our audience. I am glad to see people coming to theatres and watching the movie. Though, the film is a family entertainer, children are curious to know how Uppi acted in three get ups in one movie and they are excited seeing him do bharatanatyam," he says.