I’ve lost respect from audience after Bhai

On one hand while Superstar Nagarjuna is unhappy that 2013 has been dreadful for him, be it on the filmi front or from his dad’s health perspective, on the other hand, he is pleased that his production ‘Uyyala Jampala’ has been garnering praise from all quarters. Labeling the year as ‘terrible’, he says, “The success of ‘Uyyala Jampala’ came like a whiff of fresh air. When I watched the film for the first time, I hugged co-producer Ram Mohan.”

Looking dapper in a chequered shirt and blue formals, the actor speaks about his recent damp squib ‘Bhai’, the family movie ‘Manam’, sons Chaitanya and Akhil and more importantly the health of his dad ANR.

Nag was insistent that his partner Ram Mohan produce a film with him, but the latter had other plans. When he approached Nag with the script of ‘Uyyala Jampala’, the actor-turned-producer had no hesitations to be a part of it. “It’s been ages since we got to see a film which is completely set in a village. Bollywood and Tamil films are going back to roots whereas we haven’t. AP has the highest rural population and when Virinchi Varma narrated the script, I was keen that the film had to be made with newcomers,” he says, while adding that even his son Akhil wouldn’t have fitted the role.

“There was no way he could have fitted the bill because he has an image behind. I also feel that he wouldn’t have got the Godavari accent right because he has no connection to the area. He would have looked artificial in the role of Soori,” believes Nag.

With his last two releases failing to set the cash registers ringing, the matinee idol feels that it’s high time that he experiments with his roles. “Change is inevitable. The recent Delhi elections prove that point. The industry is changing and I see more and more content-oriented films in 2014. I haven’t signed any films after ‘Manam’. Some collaborations with S Gopal Reddy and Bellamkonda Suresh have been doing the rounds but until they come up with innovative ideas, I won’t be green-lighting their films,” he says.

He adds, “The other important thing is that I want to spend more time with dad. I’m visiting him frequently and if I don’t get innovative scripts, I don’t mind being with him all day.”

‘Greeku Veerudu’s poor show apart, Nag is extremely disappointed with the result of ‘Bhai’ considering that it was his own production. He reflects, “I’m the boss, so I take the blame. Somewhere I lost my way with ‘Bhai’. After seeing the film, I felt I lost respect for myself. The audience respect me for certain things and I felt I’ve lost their respect too. I ensured my family members didn’t watch it. I said they will lose respect on me if they catch it.”

With the debacle he already has a new resolution in place. “My New Year resolution is not to make films like ‘Bhai’ anymore,” he smiles wide.

Shooting for ‘Manam’, which he says, in many ways is emotional for him and for the whole family, is over except for the portions of Samantha. “She said that she will give dates in February. Maybe in the first week of February, we will wrap it up. We are planning to unveil the first teaser this Sankranthi. The teaser will be released only if it meets my expectations. I want a beautiful cut diamond from director Vikram Kumar and cinematographer Vinod. We are planning to release it for March-end.”

He recalls a sequence where Chaitanya was terrified with the act of addressing ANR as musaloda. “He had to address dad as ‘musaloda musaloda’ for a particular sequence but wasn’t ready for it. Dad said to him that it was a film and he could do so and that he could tender an apology after the scene. But he was in no mood to heed to him. Finally he relented and did it so,” he laughs.

He also recalls that his dad shot for ‘Manam’ immediately after the surgery. “I asked him to take his own time but he was firm on completing his portions on time. Under the supervision of DTS mixer Madhusudhan, he dubbed for his portions at home. He was of the opinion that his voice may change if we had to wait for him to recover.”

Nag is keen that his younger son Akhil would get a perfect launch pad, unlike his elder son Chaitanya. Not blaming anyone, he points out, “I should have launched Chaitanya. I made a mistake. Maybe I would have done a better film because I had the capability and confidence.”

He continues, “Akhil is in the process. We are negotiating with two to three directors but he will take a final call on the director. He is lucky in that aspect because neither Chaitanya nor I had that privilege.”

The actor, who was associated endorsing innovative schemes of Congress and TDP in the past, will support whoever forms the government again. “I don’t think the State government has any schemes right now because they are fighting among themselves. If there’s good initiative that I can be a part of it, I will lend my support. I recently endorsed the Hyderabad Metro campaign,” he insists.

Stating that his evergreen dad is doing well health-wise, he adds, “We advised him not to get up with a jerk because he is prone to go down due to a disorder which is associated with his body. Whenever he is awake, we meet him. For the last two months, I’ve been spotted more at dad’s house than in the last five years. Chala kaburlu chepthunnaru ….He is revealing things which he has hid till now (smiles).”