It’s high time I got married: Nikhil

With ‘Shankarabaranam’, Nikhil is hopeful that he will endear himself to the audience of interiors too as he feels that his hits like ‘Swamy Ra Ra’ and ‘Karthikeya’ “went unnoticed” in parts of Ceded and Rayalaseema. “‘Shankarabaranam’ is opening in 600 plus screens; it’s my biggest release till date. As an actor I want to reach every corner of the two Telugu states and the film’s wide release coupled with aggressive promotions will help,” he exults.

‘Karthikeya 2’ is on. We have locked the script and registered it too. It will be a continuation from where the first part ended. It is going to be out of the world

A remake of Bollywood semi hit ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama’, ‘Shankarabaranam’ is from the stables of ace writer Kona Venkat, while his long-time associate Uday Nandanavanam has helmed it. Nikhil fondly recollects how the project took form. “When I first met Kona garu, he said we will be doing a film together. He gave me a 20-minute narration but I politely told him that I could make up mind only after hearing to the full script. He took 20 days time and then sounded me the whole script.

He later said that it is loosely based on ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama’ and that he acquired the remake rights,” he recalls, adding, “Many people felt that I green-lighted the film because of Kona factor and the remuneration. On the contrary, however, I was blown away by the way Kona garu gave the script a new spin by incorporating family emotions, humour and action in equal measures.”

He continues after a pause, “The film offered me something new to explore. Family audience hasn’t been a regular to my films and this film is my effort to get closer to them.” The actor plays Gautham, an NRI in the film. He lands in India for a purpose and the series of events he encounters form the film. Admittedly, the actor prepped up to play the part before joining the sets.

“I stayed in New York for 45 days, observing and interacting with desi’s very closely. I even purchased my costumes for the role from the US,” shares Nikhil who took 15 days (in the dubbing studio) to get his accent right. Nikhil insists that it was Uday Nandanavanam who directed the film not Kona. However, “Kona garu supervised the whole process. If he did not like a particular shot, he insisted Uday to go for a retake. He never played the Big Boss.

“Moreover, Uday and Kona know each other for the past decade. They are like brothers. It is because of their coordination that we wrapped up the film in flat 60 days. Normally after a shot is okayed it takes at least 10 minutes to rearrange props for another shot, but Kona and Co used to go for the next one in minutes. They used to communicate with eyes,” smiles Nikhil.

Nikhil brims with confidence when asked about his next with ‘Tiger’ director VI Anand. “It will be another different film for me. It’s a fantasy drama and will be mounted on a big scale.” What about ‘Karthikeya 2’? “It’s on. We have locked the script and registered it too. It will be a continuation from where the first part ended. It’s going to be out of the world,” he declares, with a loud laugh.

Veering into his personal space, Nikhil feels its “high time” that he gets married. “I’ve promised my mother that I will marry after delivering two hits. Though I achieved it, I am yet to keep my word. I will get married by next summer. It will be an arranged alliance,” he concludes, smiling.

By Nagaraj Goud