Adarsh Gourav Spills the Secret: How Samantha Ruth Prabhu Paved the Way for His Big Telugu Debut

After making a mark in Hindi and English films, Adarsh Gourav is stepping into Telugu cinema with an upcoming project. Excited about this new chapter, he shares, "Telugu is my mother tongue, and I always wanted to work in this industry. But I didn't know how to break in."

Interestingly, it was Samantha Ruth Prabhu who played a key role in making his Telugu debut happen. Adarsh recalls, "At Citadel's after-party, I told Samantha that I wanted to work in Telugu films. She encouraged me, saying, 'Why don't you take some meetings? I'll help you out.' True to her word, her business partner and manager introduced me to several people, and that's how I met the producer and director of this film. It was a stroke of luck."

Talking about his film, Adarsh describes it as a "multi-genre" project, blending psychological thriller, horror, and dark comedy elements.

Given Telugu cinema's reputation for grand, larger-than-life storytelling, would he consider exploring that genre? Adarsh admits that he didn't grow up watching such films. "I started watching cinema seriously quite late in life, and my influences were directors like Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Dibakar Banerjee, and Zoya Akhtar. Their films felt real, like you've met those characters in real life. Larger-than-life films require producers to see me in that light-I can't just decide it myself unless I produce one for myself," he says.

Despite being new to the Telugu film industry, Adarsh feels deeply connected to the language. "Growing up, my parents had a rule-we could speak any language outside, but at home, only Telugu. Back then, I didn't understand why, but now, at 31, it makes so much sense."

On his experience so far, he shares, "Every industry has its unique culture. Strangely, I never had Telugu friends growing up, but being here feels familiar-maybe it's the people or the food. There's something magical about working in a language that feels like home. Even if you don't know the people personally, you still feel an unspoken understanding. It's special."