World Snake Day: "My mother doesn’t know about my near-fatal snake rescue operation," says Koilamma actor Sai Kiran Ram

Actor Sai Kiran Ram is not just an actor but an animal lover, too. However, his love for animals is quite evident from the fact that he has rescued over 3000 snakes over a span of two decades. The actor is one of the founding members of a Hyderabad-based NGO that works towards rescuing serpents and creating awareness about the same.

On World Snake Day 2020, the Koilamma actor talks at length about his concern for snakes and animals despite the risk, his scariest rescue experience and more about his unique hobby.

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I’ve seen a bunch of people lynching a snake to death. I pleaded with them to not kill it. They asked me to rescue it then. I genuinely tried but was scared when it hissed at me. The snake was eventually killed but the experience was very haunting. I wondered who the villains here are – humans or the snakes! I then decided I should never let another snake die again in my life. It all started there.

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This is something you can learn through practical not mugging up theories. I have been rescuing snakes from over two decades now. I get a call whenever there is a snake rescue to be done at any of the celebrities’ properties. I’ve once rescued a snake in Nagarjuna garu’s car, at the construction site of Trivikram garu’s property and even Pawan Kalyan garu’s residence, too.

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(Laughs) I’ve rescued snakes on Koilamma sets on many occasions. Once when I was doing an emotional scene and my manager suddenly started making gestures of a snake standing behind the director. I was initially shocked at his audacity to disturb the shot but when I knew it was about a snake rescue, I rushed immediately and saved the snake.

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Once I got a call at midnight around 12.30 am to rescue a Cobra at a construction site in the city. I rushed to the site and rescued the snake. He tried to pay me and when I was explaining to him that it is my hobby, the Cobra bit me. I rushed to the hospital nearby and unfortunately I had to explain to the duty doctor about the first aid treatment, too. The doctor was scared and denied treatment as it was his first-of-its-kind experience but I had eventually blackmailed him to do the treatment. I suffered fits for a few minutes but then I was fine. You must not sleep when you have a snake bite. I fought for a few hours but couldn’t resist falling asleep due to the venom sometime in the wee hours. Fortunately, I woke up the next afternoon. I had to lie about this to my mom and family.

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Catching a snake is seen as an act of bravery. It started off as a fascination for me as well. But I soon realised that we must live in harmony with nature. People in some remote villages amid forests who are compassionate towards the animals around them fascinate me. Not just snakes, no animal deserves to die. If we are entitled to live, so they are. I’ve also rescued most kinds of rare owls, rhesus monkeys, eagles and banned animals which are mostly ignored due to superstitions.

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There were stories written about me in the past saying that I was catching snakes since I don’t have any movies or shows in hand. But I had to pacify myself saying that some people live out of criticizing people. I just request it is fine if you can’t appreciate it but please don’t criticize when someone’s doing what you can’t.

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Our culture teaches us to worship every animal. We worship snakes on Naga Panchami but kill them when we see a snake the very next day. This instinct to kill something that threatens us needs to change. That is why we try to go to schools, conduct snake shows, tell kids how to be careful, avoid snake bites and violence against animals.

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We created a fear of god, ghost and superstitions. We do films and TV shows on them and it sells too. What’s wrong as long as it feeds someone.

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