‘I wanted to bust myths about hosts’

IIFA Utsavam co-host Allu Sirish explains why hosting a show brings with it some negativity in the industry

Actor Allu Sirish, who co-hosted the just-concluded IIFA Utsavam in Hyderabad along with Regina Cassandra and Navdeep, is on high spirits. This the first time down South that a big film event was hosted by actors and not anchors. “I had been to a few film events in Bollywood and have seen top actors hosting it. They crack jokes on everyone and most of them take it on a lighter note. Keeping that in mind, I too wanted to do the same for our Telugu film event,” says Sirish.

“In our industry, anchoring by actors is greeted with negativity by many; I wanted to break it. So I took the initiative myself and decided to host it. When I approached the event organiser, he agreed happily,” says Sirish, who suggested Navdeep and Regina as co-hosts.

After the event, many Tollywood personalities including Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja and Harish Shankar, sent messages to Sirish, appreciating the show.

“In fact, this helped to build my confidence. Talking in front of the camera and hosting something live is different. I rehearsed for a month with my script writers. I even told a few people that I would ask them some fun questions which they agreed to. Personal questions might not be taken well, so I stuck to fun question,” he says.

“Till now, many didn’t know that I mimicked actors’ voices; with this show, everyone came to know about it. I also think that this will help me in my acting career,”says a hopeful Sirish.

The actor is currently working for director Parasuram’s untitled project.

“So far, 80 per cent of the film has been completed and only songs are left to shoot. This is a complete familybased subject. I come from a big joint family, so I like the subject. It’s also very close to my heart,” says Sirish.

He thinks that Telugu actors have developed a wonderful fashion sense recently.

“Now, our actors are at par with Bollywood actors. If you look at the recent events, every actor has dressed up well. Even my brother Allu Arjun was trying outfits for the event two days in advance.Yes, we are competing with every one when it comes to fashion,” he says, adding that inspired by his brother, he too decided to dress well and hired a personal designer Indrakshi for his outfits.