Balakrishna to don army fatigues

Hyderabad, July 12 (IANS): Telugu stars are generally averse to donning army fatigues in films, but not Balakrishna.

He would be portraying the character of an army officer in the forthcoming film "Vijayendra Varma".

Explaining his tagline: "Power of an Indian", director Subbarao said: "It is the tale of a high-ranking military officer who brings pride to the nation."

He has fused a love story into this patriotic theme to make it a "complete entertainer". He intends to release it in September.

Apart from the late N.T. Rama Rao and Krishna, Telegu stars avoid enacting the role of an army officer since they do not consider it a safe bet commercially.

However, Rama Rao, more popularly known as NTR, and Krishna have played such roles in films that have gone on to become blockbusters.

Though NTR's "Bobbili Pulli" and Krishna's "Chikati Velugulu" proved such films could be money-spinners, others decided to stay away from the green fatigues.

"Chikati Velugulu" narrated the tale of a military officer in the conventional heroic manner, but "Bobilli Pulli" depicted the transformation of an army official -- the recipient of Param Vir Chakra -- into a dreaded killer.

In the court, the character enacted by NTR justifies his killings by claiming the duty of an officer is to eradicate enemies across and within the border.

But "Vijayendra Varma", with three top heroines, seems to be a traditional tale of an upright officer.

"It will be a memorable role in my career," says Balakrishna, who is playing such a role for the first time in his 25-year-old career, excluding a brief appearance in fatigues in the film "Mangamma Gari Manavudu".