Naga chaitanya-"Iam glad my friends and family give me feedback without sugarcoating it"

Naga Chaitanya is ecstatic about Tadakha’s triumphant run at the box office. “I had a release and a hit. That definitely feels good. What I aimed for has happened – I wanted a breakthrough in action and was looking to give myself a makeover and it worked.” The fact that Tadakha was a remake doesn’t bother him at all. “So what? I think the film had the right mix of elements that guarantee a success; fortunately or unfortunately, it happened to be a remake. ”

Needless to say, the Akkineni family is delighted at the young lad’s success. His father, Nag, called a press conference to express his happiness over Tadakha’s success and Naga Chaitanya’s performance in the film. “I think they are happier than I am, they are enjoying it more,” says Chaitanya. “Honestly, I thought my grandfather would not like Tadakha. He is quite critical about films and is a keen observer of the art that goes into cinema. Tadakha has loose ends like any commercial film. But he enjoyed the action a lot.”

What has got Telugu fans chirping in excitement next is Manam, a very important and dare we say ‘historic’ project that brings three generations of the Akkiineni family – ANR, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya – together on screen. Directed by Vikram Kumar, the shoot has already begun. Shriya is cast opposite Nagarjuna, while Samantha is paired with Chaitanya. Understandably, the young star is mighty excited about the film. Manam, he states, will be “a laugh riot. It is not the regular commercial action revenge drama. It is going to be something magical. I would say it is a romantic entertainer, but watch out for a small supernatural element in the film. My dad has the most scenes in Manam.” Harshavardhan is writing the dialogues for the film which is scripted by Vikram Kumar. “When Vikram came to us he had the dialogues in Tamil and English, so Harsha is primarily putting it down in Telugu and adding a bit of Telugu sensibilities to it.”

Ask him what he really likes about Manam, and he reveals, “Only three real-life generations of a family can do the film. You can’t pick any three people randomly and ask them to do the roles. We have to be connected to be a part of the script. That is what makes it magical, very convincing and fantastic. Vikram came with the script two years ago. My father said he didn’t think I was ready to do the film – he told me to go and prove myself a little more. Vikram came back after doing Ishq, and we took it up. People will come to the theatres expecting a grandfatherfather- son relationship, but let me tell you it’s not going to be that. It’s going to shock you guys. The way we open the film itself is going to shock you all. It’s going to be very interesting in a very entertaining way.”

Chaitanya is also planning to act in the remake of Hello Brother, another huge hit of his dad. “As a kid, I have watched Hello Brother about 25 times and ever since I became an actor, I have wanted to work with Srinivas Reddy. So when he came up with the concept of remaking Hello Brother, I was thrilled. While it will be a fresh spin on the blockbuster, the twins remain the core of the remake and the story revolves around them. When my father played the roles, he was much older and the equation was different. Now we have given the treatment a trendy and urban twist.” Parallels are bound to be drawn as the original Hello Brother was a super hit. “I agree. A lot of people remember the film and love it. That’s also the reason we are taking a little longer to start, making sure we work well on the script.”

Chaitanya’s Autonagar Surya, directed by Devakatta has been delayed due to some financial issues. It’s a promising film which is keenly awaited. “I have a few days of work left in Autonagar Surya. They have been showing some interest to revive it and get it out now. I’m hoping it will happen soon.”

Things are looking up for the actor, after the success of his latest film. But even in the past, despite two flops on the trot, Chaitanya was not one to be disheartened. “Initially, it hit me hard but I now look at those flops as the best learning experiences so far in my life. I’m happy these failures happened to me early on, they’ve taught me a lot. For instance, it is from these failures that I learnt exactly how important the script is, how vital technicians are and of course, how intricate and complex movie-making is. One or two good aspects don’t make a film. It needs to be a good blend of many factors, brought together by a really strong script.”

Chaitanya continues to introspect and reflect on his skills. “That is something I am always doing. All things considered, you can’t predict box office success, so irrespective of a hit or flop I put in the same effort from my side. I enjoy the success when my film is a hit. I criticise myself when the film fails. Fortunately, I do have people around me who offer constructive criticism.” I remind him that being an actor, criticism is not always easy to stomach. “Outside perspective can do a world of good. As an actor, it is easy to lose perspective because you’ve seen yourself playing the role everyday. I am glad my friends and family give me feedback without sugar-coating it. I read the reviews in the media and get some learning from there. I process all the feedback, see if it makes sense and apply it. You just have to live through the disheartening days. You don’t beat yourself up about the failure, you’ve just got to try to get something positive out of it.”