When Nag turned Shiva

Some people wrote off Chaitanya saying that he is not cut out for action. But 'Tadakha' proved otherwise. I've seen him work hard on his fitness for the film and stunt masters Ram-Laxman too made full use of his potential. The action sequence under the rain transported me to good old 'Shiva' days - Nagarjuna Nagaraj Goud It was the turn of superstar Nagarjuna to promote his son Naga Chaitanya's flick 'Tadakha'. The actor, who was committed for the European schedule of 'Bhai' during 'Tadakha' release, is, however, on cloud nine with the way fans and people have embraced Chaitanya's movie. "I was in Slovenia during the release, but I was told about the films reviews and collections. I participated in 'Bhai' shoot with more gusto. I felt that Tamil version 'Vettai' was sluggish and had some drawbacks. It was striking to see director Dolly (Kishore) making necessary corrections for the Telugu version. Ashutosh Rana's role, especially, stood out," said Nagarjuna on Monday in Hyderabad.

He said the film came at the right juncture for Naga Chaitanya. "Some people came to a conclusion that he is not made for action, but the film proved to be otherwise. I've seen him work hard on his fitness for the film and fight masters Ram-Laxman too made full use of his potential. The action sequence under the rain transported me to good old 'Shiva' days," said a beaming Nag. Pointing out the positives of the film, he said, "Besides the natural establishment of brother's emotional bond between Chaitanya and Sunil, the dialogues too were a major asset to the movie - they were very dramatic and cinematic - the confrontation scenes between Chaitanya and Rana packed a punch. The female casting too fell in place." Nag also took the opportunity to warn Chaitanya. "Just because 'Tadakha', an action-entertainer, clicked, it doesn't mean that he should be repetitive. I want him to try his hands at all genres- he cannot depend on action every time. I did 'Shiva' and 'Geetanjali' on a parallel note and both reaped in the benefits. At the end of the day, it boils down to good films. If a film has good content and is well presented, people are bound to visit the screens," the suave hero said. With Chaitanya's last two films failing to set the cash registers ringing, Nag is now a relived man, as he analysed what went wrong. "Dhada' and 'Bezawada' were not up to the standards in terms of making. But it's a learning curve for any upcoming actor. Early setbacks will make one stronger and will make one to be extra cautious choosing scripts." His dad Akkineni Nageswara Rao and younger son Akhil too went gaga over the film, he said. "Dad is usually away from the dishum-dishum stuff, but he called me and said how happy he was with the film. Akhil was bowled over by Tamannaah's performance," he smiled. Shifting focus to his ambitious project 'Manam' which sees him alongside dad and son, he stated he will have with the lion's share when it comes to the footage. "I have to balance dad and Che (Naga Chaitanya) so I will be getting more space than him," he smiled and added, "There's some magic in the script between me, dad, and Che. It will be a laugh riot. Shriya Saran is opposite me while Samantha will romance Che. Dad is devoid of a heroine. We will start in June and wrap it up by October. We plan to space out two months for post-production." His 'Bhai' too is on the verge of completion. "It will be a departure from the stuff that I resorted for the past one and half year. I play a mafia don in the film which will be high on entertainment. We will be through with the shooting by July-end," 'Manmadhudu', as he's fondly called by his scores of female fans, concluded.