Let’s make original films and let them remake our films : Nani

You accept with his decision or you criticize him for his approval of OTT release, Natural Star Nani is very happy to offer a perfect family entertainer to Telugu audiences for this Vinayaka Chavithi festival. Here are excerpts from interview of the actor.

Do you miss the theatre experience? Last year V and now Tuck Jagadish is coming on OTT?
Like all of you, I’m also missing theatre experience. Nothing can beat the joy of watching movies in theatres. But, situations are very tough for theatrical release of films. So, we are going for OTT release.

How did Tuck Jagadish happen?
I was dubbing for a film and Shiva Nirvana called me to share a story idea with me. I was not in a mood to do love stories. I wanted to meet Shiva, listen to the idea and if the story doesn’t excite, I prepared myself to say no. He narrated me basic line with an opening scene. We hear voices of quarrel and after a blank scene, Nasser says, “Hey Jagadi- Maga pilladu edavakudadu… Aada pillani edpinchakudadu… Adi intiki ooriki manchidi kaadu… Then comes the title. I got a feel that his story has the depth. There’s no connection with his previous films.

What’s the reason behind Tuck Jagadish title?
Shiva Nirvana gave good names for every character. We relate to every character. We don’t really hear Jagadish name for hero’s character in films. Coming to Tuck Jagadish title, we add some prefixes, if there are many people with the same name. Jagadish will be seen with tuck since childhood. When someone asks me same in the film, a good explanation is given for this. Many will relate to it.

Will there be many twists in the story?
I didn’t look it as a twist. It’s a complexity in a family drama. There will be a surprising element to a character in the movie.

Tell us about Ritu Varma and Aishwarya Rajesh’s characters?
Both played different roles. Ritu Varma played my love interest. In the family drama- the track will be a breather, as tone will be changed. Aishwarya’s is very crucial role. She will be seen as my niece. Jagadish goes to any extent for her.

How’s your bonding with Jagapathi Babu?
Tuck Jagadish is about family. But brothers connection is the core point. The complexity is presented brilliantly. Directors usually don’t go to depth about other characters other than lead actors. But Shiva gives importance to every character.

Why are you doing serious films, of late?
Entertainment is not confined to comedy. Engaging audience is the real entertainment, according to me. As an actor, I really believe that we need to do all kinds of films. Ante Sundaraniki will be a completely entertainer. You can’t sit on seats. My father and uncle used to say during my childhood that an actor needs to make audience feel for every emotion. From now onwards, I will be doing films, which excite me in terms of content.

Don’t you want to do love stories?
Ante Sundaraniki is a proper love story. Few times, I like stories, but don’t them, when I was not in that space. I didn’t want to extend my market. I try every time to go next level as an actor. I was the original choice for Raja Rani. However, I was busy with couple of other projects, I couldn’t do it. But I told my producers that, it will become a blockbuster and Atlee will become a star director.

Your last movie V was a flop, what do you say about it?
For the record, I just want to clear. The validation system will be different for theatres. For MCA, word of mouth was not encouraging. But, it was a blockbuster. V too got mixed reviews, like MCA. But, unfortunately, there’s no validation system for OTT. On a scale of 10, Amazon gave a rating of 20 for the movie, as the film got huge viewership and they got many new subscribers. If they aren’t happy with the performance of V, they wouldn’t have bought Tuck Jagadish for much bigger price.

Aren’t you interested in doing remakes?
I did two remakes- Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu and Aha Kalyanam. Though Bheemili worked, Aha Kalyanam failed utterly. Right now, I’m not in the frame of my mind to do remakes. ‘Let’s make original films and let them remake our films.’ Ninnu Kori, HIT, Awe, Jersey and few other films of mine and my production are being remade in different languages. Tuck Jagadish won’t be remade, because it’s a proper Telugu film. It’s a nostalgic film for Telugus. It’s more than enough that many across the globe will watch and enjoy the movie with subtitles.

Do you have any plans of doing Pan India film?
I strongly feel that there won’t be Pan India film in next 2 years. Due to OTT revolution, people are watching great content of different languages with subtitles. Many are preferring to watch movies in original languages with English subtitles and are not keen on watching dubbing versions. OTT is a great medium to watch all kinds of films. We will grow as audience. We get to watch all kinds of films. This in a way challenges us to come up with great content or else we will be rejected.

OTT is educating audience. We need to update ourselves. It’s a good process. We need a platform to release movies under these circumstances. However, there’s no device to replace theatres. Exhibitors are facing troubles. There is no chance that theatres business will be over.

Will you do OTT movies or web-series?
I have no plans of doing OTT films or web-series. I’m already feeling sad that there won’t be interval card for Tuck Jagadish. There is a high moment during interval of the film.

Tell us about the status of your production ventures?
Hit 2 with Adivi Sesh has completed 60-70% shoot already. Every film in the franchise will be bigger in terms of story and making. My sister is directing Meet Cute which may release directly on an OTT platform. It’s a big surprise for me that, there is a writer in our family.

When will Shyam Singha Roy release?
We are planning to release Shyam Singha Roy for year end. If theatres will be fully functional, we may pre-pone release of the movie. Ante Sundaraniki is also fast progressing with its shoot.