Nag: Spent my most precious time with dad

Fifteen days after surgery, he was at home in bed when he said, 'Bring all the dubbing equipment and do my dubbing for 'Manam' before I get worse, or you will get a mimicry artiste to do my dubbing: Nag

He was a legend in the Telugu film industry. But in real life, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, popularly known as ANR, was a humble man, says his son and superstar Nagarjuna.

It would be near impossible to fill the gap created by the demise on January 22 of his 91-year-old father who won the Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to cinema, said Nagarjuna in an interview.

"My childhood was special because dad brought me a bicycle when I was small and I loved it," Nagarjuna said in the interview, detailing his earliest memories of ANR.

How do you differentiate between ANR the father and the star?

"They were completely different. My father was a humble human being and a very disciplined actor," Nag said.

"I remember going to shoots with dad, with my brother and sister," recalled Nag with a deep sigh.

"It was his aura and presence that moved me every time he would walk into a room... He was my best guide."

ANR played a critical role once Nag decided to plunge into the movie industry, giving him invaluable tips.

Even as a busy actor, Nag pined for his father's company.

"I would wait for him so that we can have dinner together. After a tiring day, my most precious time (was spent) with him," Nag said.

ANR was an unobtrusive observer of the Telugu movie industry, the second biggest in India after Bollywood.

In a career spanning seven decades, he was the undisputed emperor of the Telugu film industry. But despite the dizzying success, he never lost links with Ramapuram in Andra Pradesh where he was born.

Nag gets emotional while talking about ANR, whose story was a rags-to-riches one, akin to a blockbuster production.

According to Nag, ANR was a successful writer too. His works include ‘Nenu Na Jeevitham’, ‘A Aalu’ and ‘Nenu Choosina America’.

Such was ANR's stature that a national award was set up in his name in 2005. Among those who have won it are Shyam Benegal, Dev Anand and Shabana Azmi.

I want 'Manam' to be a befitting send-off to my father.

Nag says he wants ‘Manam’ to be a befitting farewell to his dad.

"I want his last film 'Manam' to be a befitting send-off to a man who was much more than just a father to me. He was on the sets of the film when he collapsed (last year). When they opened him up, he was in the fifth stage of cancer. Until then he was in the pink of health," read a post from Nagarjuna on his official Facebook page.

ANR had completed all the shooting but for one song.

"The film spans a period from 1920 to 2013. My father plays a 90-year old. Except that incomplete song he completed all the shooting," he posted.

"Fifteen days after surgery he was at home in bed when he said, 'Bring all the dubbing equipment and do my dubbing for 'Manam' before I get worse, or you will get a mimicry artiste to do my dubbing. He made sure we he completed the film. It's now being released on March 31st," Nagarjuna further posted.

Directed by Vikram Kumar, ‘Manam’ also features Nagarjuna and his son Naga Chaitanya. It's the first time actors from three generations of Akkineni clan worked together.