I'm a bit like Venky

In a candid interview, the third generationA Akkineni star Naga Chaitanya goes down the memory lane - his childhood, his crushes and his equation with china mavayya Venky and why he is highly upbeat about starring in 'Manam' They are always those phases of your school life without which life wouldn't be bright. From my Class VIII onwards, I had my crushes. Sometimes you express them and it works out Nagaraj Goud His superstar dad, time and again, branded him as the coolest Akkineni and he lives up to it every bit. Composed and stylish, Naga Chaitanya, a superstar in the making, is topping the filmi headlines for his latest avatar in 'Tadakha'. Both his paternal and maternal families have strong links to the industry, but the actor says he was completely 'disconnected' from films. "I did my schooling in Chennai and lived there almost for 18 years. The only time I was in touch with the industry was when I used to visit Hyderabad during holidays. So the idea to act crept in and interest began. When I was somewhere between 18 and 19 years old, I took a conscious decision to come to Hyderabad and see if my interest in films was real or just a passing fancy," he recollects. Going by his chocolate boy looks one assumes him to be an obedient student and ask him whether he was 'one' or belongs to those nautanki types? He smiles, "I wasn't the nautanki types, but a good boy who was definitely not the first bencher. I hardly had any interest in academics. I remember my mother coming to school all the time to collect my progress card, as I used to do badly.

I was always a creative person who embraced stuff outside the books. I had a mind of own and carried a different view of things," and continues, "I just didn't like the idea of reading from a book. I loved learning about anything in life through my own experiences." School life is not devoid of those 'crushes' and Chaitanya too has had his share. "They are always those phases of your school life without which life wouldn't be bright. From my Class VIII onwards, I had my crushes. Sometimes you express them and it works out," he smiles. Does that mean a girl responded in his favour? "Yes, a girl did accept. Otherwise I wouldn't have been such a confident person today. However, I'm not seeing the same girl. I've been fortunate enough to be proposed too. Like most teenagers, I had my share of experiences- good and bad," he continues to smile. Now that his dad co-owns a racing team, the actor who is quite passionate about motor sports, has his plans cut-out. "It's a passion that's been with me since I was ten-years-old. Dad and I are equally involved with the racing team. If he's tied down with work, I attend the races. If everything goes well in the future I plan to invest in a team. I'm not into professional racing but I do it as a hobby," he shares. With his dad still giving youngsters a run for their money with his looks, does he feel that no matter how he dresses up his dad still overshadows him? "The audience still feels that he doesn't appear his age. It's a pressure for me - being young and trying to look cool since dad is cooler than me. But it's always been a good encouragement and I need not go anywhere to look around for style since he's there at home. I keep telling him that he's dominating me. He continues to make love stories like 'Greeku Veerudu' which I should be doing," Che, (as he's fondly called at home and by friends) confesses. Does his dad share tips on style? "We don't deliberately go out and look for style. That way we are similar. We just look around us. What is the trend these days? What are youngsters wearing and relating to? That's where we adapt from. We don't consciously give ourselves a makeover. We just go by the trend," he maintains. The suave star shares a 'special equation' with china mavayya Venky, as he spent a lot of time with him during his growing years. "I can relate to him very much. Somewhere I feel I'm a little bit like him because he's quiet and usually keeps away from the attention. So I look up to him. He is a family man. The way he takes care of his family is something I learned from him and will continue to learn," the muscle-charged hunk shares. So what's the feedback that Venky gave him after watching his movies? "I know he watched 'Josh', 'Ye Maya Chesave' and '100 % Love'. Knowing me, he never knew that I would do action, but after watching 'Josh', he felt that I did a commendable job. He is aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I come across as a shy person and he was worried that it would translate onto screen but he was very happy after seeing my on-screen outings," he says. While he said he looks for 'honesty' in his girl, he is playing cards close to his chest when asked whether he has finally found his Jessie. "Maybe I found one. I will tell you guys at the right and appropriate time," he blushes - A worrisome factor for his hardcore female fans! On the professional front, while he has projects like Kannada hit 'Charminar' remake and 'Hello Brother' remake, he is eagerly waiting to land on the sets of director Vikram Kumar's 'Manam' which gives him the luxury to share space with his legendary grandfather and dad. "Apart from the fact that three generation heroes are uniting for one project for the first time in Telugu, I personally feel that none of the audience will expect what we're going to deliver with the film. We are not going to beat up baddies; instead we'll have you rolling in the aisles. Yeah, it's going to be a laugh riot. As opposed to the news, dad will get the lion's share in terms of footage. We are going to floors from next month," he concludes on a high note.