Ram Charan is brushing up his Hindi to match Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s angry young man’s avatar in the remake of Zanjeer, to be directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Charan is aware of the huge expectation the audience has of him. He says, “Yes, there are a lot of expectations. Every actor that plays the lead role must do justice to his or her character. I have to get into a new territory and start on a clean slate once again.”

Apoorva called him the next angry young man of Hindi cinema, a tag he will have to live upto. He admits, “Yes, I am anxious and nervous. But it works in my favor as I work best under pressure. I’m very happy to hear that Apoorva has called me the next angry young man of Hindi cinema, I hope I live upto it.” Being a star son, it’s doubly tough to make a lasting impression in the minds of critics and the audience who can’t help but compare sons to their fathers.

Ram Charan agrees and says, “Critics help an actor develop his skills further, character after character. Yes, I would like to be compared with my father (Chiranjeevi) to see where I stand. I will always take criticism positively to improve myself. The Indian audience is very kind and it really appreciates hard work and dedication.”

When asked what is his preparation for the role of Vijay, He replies, “Right now, I’m brushing up my Hindi speaking skills! I do know Hindi pretty well but it’s completely Hyderabadi. We have a unique way of speaking Hindi. I watched Zanjeer as a kid, I truly believe that Vijay is a very powerful character and he himself will carve an identity of his own in the film.”

There are more important things on his mind than movies. Ram’s looking forward to his grand wedding with Upasana Kamineni and says he would like to act in her favorite director’s film. He shares, “I will be getting married soon to my fiancée Upasana, who is a huge Yash Chopra fan. For her, at some point, I would like to do a movie like DDLJ but with more action. I really like Vidhu Vinod Chopra and look forward to working with him one day.”

When asked how much importance he gives to a storyline, and if a script matters more than the director, Ram Charan answers, “The story and the script make or break a film. You need to understand the character and fit in with it completely.” Ram Charan sums up saying that he’s an instinctive actor but also likes to keep his director’s vision in mind. “I give in to the character completely. The character I choose to play must be somewhat like me or I do extensive research to think the way he does. A lot of hard work needs to go in from both ends.”