Psychological thriller ‘Striker’ released on Friday, where Praveen Tej is seen portraying Sidhu, a garage owner who has a psychological disorder.
The film, directed by Pawan Trivikram, aims to keep film buffs on the edge of their seats. Praveen is excited about his performance and hopes that the film gets the attention it deserves.
“It is a crucial time. With many good films having released and releasing, there’s much competition around. I am playing quite a serious character in the film and it was challenging,” he says.
Praveen adds that he “read and re-read the script many times to get the essence of the character right”.
“I didn’t watch any other films to draw inspiration and by director did not ask me to pick up tips from any films. We wanted the role to look as original and fresh as possible, and I hope I’ve done my fair share. Subtle acting is difficult and expressing just through the eyes is quite a task,” he explains.
Praveen has also been working on his physique in the past few months. “I have been working really hard. I took a break of almost five months to work on my body. My regime then required me to hit the gym for almost four hours, and I was trying different diets to get in shape. It has been a hard yet fruitful journey,” says the ‘Simpallag Innondh Love Story’ actor.
When asked if physique matters for an on-screen artiste, he quips, “Definitely. A good is important for any actor. I trained under Srinivas Gowda who also trained Rakshit Shetty, Dhananjaya among others.”
Praveen’s upcoming films are ‘BMW’ and ‘Rangamandira. He just finished the first schedule of ‘Mundina Nildana’ which is being made by Red Chillies Entertainment.