Doubly magical

After reigning stars Jr NTR and Ram Charan Tej tasted success with dual roles in films like ‘Adhurs’ and ‘Nayak’, respectively, it’s now the turn of other Gen X stars like Gopichand and Nani to appear in two avatars. Even though, Gopichand’s `dual act’ in his latest release ‘Gautam Nanda’ drew ‘mixed’ response at the BO besides scathing reviews for poor content, but the action saga marks the maiden dual role film for Gopichand.

“We wanted to showcase two contrasting shades of the action star and it is doing well,” says a source, close to the unit. Meanwhile, young director Merlapaka Gandhi has weaved a gripping story and would be presenting the most-happening-star Nani in a dual role. “I can’t reveal more except to say that it will be a full-blown entertainer, exploiting Nani’s immense talent” However, other superstars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and Allu Arjun are content doing single roles in their big-ticket movies.

But their predecessors scored big success with ‘dual role’ movies and enthralled viewers. “Whenever, top heroes failed with single-hero films, they banked on dual role scripts to bounce back into reckoning. Chiranjeevi did ‘Rowdy Alludu,’ and ‘Donga Mogudu’ , while Nagarjuna tasted success with ‘Hello Brother’ and ‘Soggade Chinni Nayana’ and Venkatesh showcased his acting prowess in films like ‘Suryavamsam’ and ‘Jayam Manadera,’ and kept the trend kicking and alive,’ says leading director Vijaybhaskar, who reminds Balakrishna recent hit ‘Legend’ and says big stars in dual roles will mostly pay off.

Whereas, seasoned writer Gopi Mohan who penned Jr NTR’s blockbuster ‘Adhurs,’ says “Novelty, is the key for even dual hero movies. We cannot just do it for the sake of it, rather we should have a convincing and believable script, which can justify the presence of a big star in twin avatars. I am glad that Gen X stars are pursuing the trend and giving scope for writers to sketch roles with varied shades to break the monotony of solo hero movies.

Like `Adhurs’ if it works, it will be a magic of sorts,” Summing up it up, director Devi Prasad adds, “Earlier, directors used to spend sleepless nights to get the frame right of one actor sharing screen space in two avatars (like father and son shown in the same frame) and used mask shots and other tricks to make the scenes realistic. Now, advent of green mat, CG has lessened the burden on the filmmakers.’