Bollywood actor Dino Morea has been known for a number of action films, though the 47-year-old actor had made his acting debut as a romantic hero in 1999 with Raj Kaushal's Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi... In case you were wondering where is Dino Morea these days, look south. Over the years, he has widened his horizon into southern cinema. While Morea has been part of some Tamil and Malayalam films in the past, it's only now that he made his Telugu debut with Akhil Akkineni's Agent, which hit the screens on April 28.
Agent is directed by Surender Reddy and has Mammootty playing a pivotal role. In an exclusive interview, Morea spoke about his journey with Agent, the gap in Hindi film projects and a lot more. After this, Morea will next be seen in a Malayalam drama, opposite Dileep and Tamannaah Bhatia. Edited excerpts:
How was your journey with Akhil Akkineni and the Agent?
It has been a beautiful one. I am glad to have been part of the film. Right from the first day to the last day of promotions, everything went well and smoothly. Akhil is a dedicated young champ who is trying hard to prove his mettle in the industry. He is the perfect fit to play Agent and worked hard for two long years to transform himself to get into the skin of the character.
How did you get the offer? What was it about your character that interested you?
Director Surender Reddy approached me for the role (of the villain) after he watched The Empire (2021). My character and looks in The Empire are so different and he believed that I would be the right choice for the character. The way he has written the character, the looks and everything about playing the rogue interested me.
Agent was the first Telugu project that came to you or were there any Telugu projects which you have missed out on?
No. No Telugu project was offered to me before this. Agent is the first film that came to me from the Telugu film fraternity.
What made you think that Agent would be the right project for you to enter the Telugu market?
When I started to know about Surender Reddy, I learnt that he has worked with actors like Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun and Ravi Teja. He made some really big films there. So, I decided to work with him. Also, the production house AK Entertainments has produced many big-budget films in Telugu. So, I felt this is the right time and the right project.
Mammootty is one of the superstars of the south. How was it working with him?
I feel lucky to have shared the screen with him. He is 72 and strong, energetic and amazing. You just have to sit there and observe him. That is enough to learn so much from him. He is punctual and is a senior from whom you get to learn a lot of life lessons. Working with him was beyond amazing.
Bollywood has not been doing well for quite some time now. Where do you think things are going wrong? Do you think audiences' taste towards the films has changed?
I think it is the scripts. It is time for filmmakers and actors to come up with scripts that will entertain the audiences. They have become smart and you cannot entertain them with anything. Audiences have to spend so much money to come to the theatres to watch the film and they will decide what they want to watch and what they don't want to. Routine and stale stories do not work anymore.
Many actors from Bollywood are looking forward to acting in southern cinema now, be it a small role or a big one. How do you look at this change? Is it going to be a healthy one? What is your view on crossovers?
Crossovers are always healthy. It will help the producers make a good amount of money especially when they are releasing the film in multiple languages. For example, Hindi audiences might watch Agent because I am in it and Malayalam audiences would want to watch it because Mammootty sir is part of it. So, crossovers are healthy and in the current scenario of Indian cinema, they will help actors and filmmakers a lot.
You have been taking breaks in between and were away from films for some time. What happened in between, was the gap by choice?
The gap that has come in between was not intentional at all. Quite a lot of projects have come to me but I did not want to do them. Some of the films did not impress me at all. And when those films were released, I was glad I did not say yes to them.