20 March 2015
Hyderabad

Nani has put himself in a strange situation. He has two films releasing on 21st March. His film Yevade Subramanyam has opposition in the form of another Nani’s film Jendapai Kapiraju. A respite for him is that there is no genre clash. Yevade.. is a romantic comedy and Jendapai.. is a mass movie. Nani talks candidly about his career and the situation he is forced into. Here are the excerpts -

Jenda Pai Kapiraju:
Jendapai Kapiraju is my most challenging film as an actor till date. It is also a film that’s close to my heart. The concept of the film is that ‘change should begin with in us’, which is something similar to Gandhi’s statement - ‘be the change that you wish to see in the world’. Though the concept is philosophical, the format is completely commercial with a bit of realism.

The Tamil version of this film ‘Nimirndhu Nil’ with Jayam Ravi as hero was released in Tamil on 8 March 2014 and didn’t do well at box office. Why should audience show interest in Telugu version of the same which is being released a year later?
I feel that the release of Tamil film was made in haste without taking last-minute care in the editing of the movie. A film is made on two tables - writing and editing. For the Telugu version, we have made sure that film is edited well. The scenic order (screenplay) is also changed. Tamil version is of 3 hours runtime and we trimmed about 30 minutes to make Telugu version a 2:30 hour movie. The changed screenplay is interesting and racy. I am proud of Jendapai Kapiraju and I am sure that it will be a success.

Tell us about Yevade Subramanyam?
I play the role of Subramanyam in this movie. He is a self made and successful entrepreneur at an young age. Each person has a true self that hides inside him/her. And we tend to project different images to different people. This film is about finding that inner self.

Ok. Here is a quick question? Tell me about the ‘evade nani’ inside you?
My appearance and body language suggests that I am a planned and calculative guy. But inside, I am a guy who follows his heart and his instincts.

What’s the genre of Yevade Subramanyam?
Yevade Subramanyam is a romantic comedy like Ala Modalaindi. It’s a story that revolves around 3 prime characters. The film will be so good that it will be liked by the future generations as well.

You guys have shot the film in Himalayas. How was the experience?
We have shot 40 days of the movie in Gokyo, Himalayas. It was a surrealistic experience. Its located 4750 meters above sea level. Our crew consisted of 45 members. We were dropped off on a chopper with one satellite phone for the entire crew. Oxygen levels are low. We have to buy oxygen by paying 70 dollars an hour per person. Since oxygen levels are low, we had hallucinations and depression at times. We had to travel 4 km to the location from where we stay. We used to wear 8/9 layers of cloths and used to sleep in sleeping bags. There is no electric power in that area and they depend on solar power. Starting the generator at shooting spot used to be a big task every morning. The skies were so clear that we could watch lakhs of stars in a clear view every night. When the shooting was over and when we were returning home, we had a sense of achievement. We had to wait for 4 days after shoot is complete due to bad weather.

Tell us about debutant director Nag Ashwin?
Most of the directors who approach me tend to take extra precautions to impress me at personal level. Nag Ashwin is one of the very few directors who has impressed with story and not by personal rapport. He is sincere and passionate. He is also a perfectionist. He knows his inner self and projects his inner self to others. Hence making a film like Yevade Subramanyam comes natural to him.

Tell us about Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt?
Film industry is generally a male-dominated one. It’s relatively difficult for women to get work done here. But Swapna and Priyanka are go-getters. They are the most passionate producers I have ever worked with. Otherwise, who would go out of their way to go for adventurous shoot in Himalayas for so many days.

Now comes the most difficult question. Both films are releasing tomorrow. Which one will you watch it first?
Biggest high for me is to watch my film in public theater for morning show on the day of release. But I have two films releasing. yevade.. and jendapai.. are like my two eyes. I have no bias towards any movie. Fortunately, both these films are releasing in the same complexes in most of the centers like RTC X Roads (Devi 70mm & Sudarshan 35mm) and Kukatpally (Vishwanadh and Arjun). May be I will watch one half in one theater and the other half in other theater.

The ups and downs of most of the film stars career tell us that nothing is in their hands. How do you feel about it?
I know that you are referring to the bad time I am going through now. I had two hits Ala Modalaindi and Pilla Zamindar in 2011. I followed it up with two more hits Eega and Eto Vellipoyindi Manasu in 2012. I didn’t have any release in 2013. Both films that are released in February of 2014 (Paisa and Aha Kalyanam) flopped. Now, I have two films releasing on the same day this Ugadi (Jenda Pai Kapiraju and Yevade Subramanyam).

I had a pretty bad time in the last two years despite putting hard work and doing films sincerely. I am brought up in Aamirpet area. To become an actor for a guy like me is a phenomenal achievement. These upsets doesn’t affect me at all. Life is boring when it’s a smooth ride. I have made a good connect with audience. They trust my ability to sign decent movies. I have to keep that trust alive by making good efforts from my side. All the films I have done so far are good films at script level. Some films might have gone wrong during execution.

You always get good appreciation despite of performance of your films?
It’s the box office that matters. It doesn’t give me any happiness if people say that I have done good film in a flop movie.

Tell us about your next movie Bale Bale Mogadivoy?
BBM is the funniest movie I have ever done. General public might expect this film to be little adult oriented as it’s directed by Maruthi. But it’s a clean. It will be an image makeover for both of us. Audiences will keep laughing throughout the movie.

Tell us about the film with 14 Reels?
Shooting of this film will start from the mid of April. Hanu Raghavapudi will direct it. It’s too early to reveal any more details.

Have you signed any other films?
I will doing a film in the direction of Chaitanya Danthuluri. We have finalized a subject. He is working on it now.