An Exclusive Interview With Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna on his latest films (Super and Bhakta Ramadasu) and his newlook for the movie Super.

super.. Preview

Super Movie Stills and Working stills

Bhakta Ramadasu Movie Opening Photos

What's with the new getup?

New is always fashion. We wanted something new with this film. Looked at many styles but zeroed on this one. I should say that I saw few folks in this style and liked it.

   Whats up with the title "Super
The title is not pre-planned. One day, my friend Ramesh and Jagan were watching the rushes when Ramesh remarked Super. Jagan liked the expression and thought it would be apt for the film. Super is a positive expression. And the word super got integrated into Telugu spoken language also. Super is such a common word, it sounds good as the title.

  Mass had a tag line - Dammunte Kasuko. Is there any tagline for this film?
There is no tagline for the film as such. We did not plan the tagline even for Mass. Since Mass title was not available we had to add the tagline to get the Mass title registered. But the title worked out very well and we used the dialogue in the film too.

  How does the title "Super" justify the film
Every thing is Super in this film. Music is super. Sandeep Chowta composed music for this film. He composed excellent music that crosses even Ninne Pelladatha. Similarly action scenes are super in the film. Bike races are totally super.

   Sandeep Chowta is almost forgotten in Telugu industry. And Ninne Pelladatha has all melodious music. So how did he fare with this action packed film?
As I said, we wanted to make this film in totally new style. Sandeep is a good friend of mine. I know he has the knack for novelty. Also Jagan likes Sandeep's music. So we decided on him and he gave super score. Coming to melody, any film will need melody. It is not that only family oriented films need melody. There are mass and class tunes in this film. When you listen to the songs, you will know.

   What is your name in this film and what is the charaterization
I am playing Akhil, a bike racer, in this film. Jagan likes that name very much. All I can say about the characters in the film is that the characters are portrayed very stylish.

   This 23rd marks 2 decades of your film life. How do you feel about it?
It is a honest profession. Being a son of some recognized in the industry will play only to an extent. After that it is all talent. It is tough to survive here unless you have creativity and talent. From my knowledge this is the only field where there is nothing to do with qualification and it is purely talent and creativity that will give you success. I feel that I am fit for acting than anything else.

   As a celebrity, you lose privacy
Never felt that. As a matter of fact, I feel that as a blessing. And coming to privacy, unless you do something very wierd on the road, people have no time to watch who is going in that car. Ya! Sometimes we miss privacy. But to gain something we have to lose something. It's a tradeoff. I never had any problem going to any nook and cornor of Hyderabad.

   What are the films that you feel gave you an identity as Nagarjuna rather than ANR's son?
I would say Geetanjali and Siva. Though I have had good hits even before these films, most of them are routine. These 2 films are totally different.

   Are there any situations when you felt bad about failures?
Ofcourse! It is natural tendency to feel bad about failures. Buyers put so much on that and when they express about their loss, it is painful to hear. Also when the fans come and say that we went to see you in that film but didnot expect to get headache, it makes you feel bad. In such situations, I take the blame onto myself. Because that's a wrong choice I made. And I try not to make such mistakes again.

   You made successful films as producer. How do you pick the films to produce?
I have flops also. But coming to my pick of films - I look from the perspective of the audience first. Audience come to the theater for 2 1/2 hour entertainment. I dont like to force sentiment and heavy story on them. My formula is to entertain them for the time they are in the theater. I dont care even if they dont think so great of my film. I will be satisfied, if they are entertained. Then I think of the director. He should be creative with good common sense. Should be able to receive feedback and take it in a positive way.

   Buzz is that ANR is also acting in Bhakta Ramadasu
Yes. It is true.

  Is it true that he is doing Kabir Das in the film
Yes

  You are playing bike racer in this film. Did you have any experience with that?
Nope. The bike racing scenes in the film were quite risky. There are instances when we touched 180 speed. And its not just my bike but a fleet of them. If one loses control, it would be a mess there. We know that it is risky. But we did that. All the bikes used are 1000 cc. I used Yamaha R1 in the film. I am sure audience will get the feel of watching a hollywood film. It is on par in terms of standards

  Is there an inspiration for this film or is this a total new concept?
I heard many saying that this is a remake of Dhoom. But thats not true. I will say that after watching Dhoom I was convinced that we could make a bike racing oriented film. We didnot realize until then that we have such equipment available in India. That is the only relation. Otherwise Super is no way associated with Dhoom. The technical crew came from Australia. The crew which worked for Mad Max and Matrix worked with us to film the bike race. Most of this is filmed in Goa and Mumbai. There is a half-constructed flyover in Bhandra (Mumbai). We got that flyover to use for this production.

   About the Cast
Ayesha and Anushka are new to Telugu. Sonu Sudh is doing a good role in this film. He is an added element for the film

   2 heroines. SO is this a triangular love story
It's a love story but not triangular.

  Upcoming projects
Next one is Bhakta Ramadasu. After that 2 projects will be for outside banners