Nagarjuna, Trisha and Mamatha Mohandas starring ‘King’ directed by Sreenu Vytla and produced by D. Siva Prasad Reddy under Kamakshi Movies banner was released on December 25, 2008. Sreenu Vytla’s continues hattrick success has did not break and ‘King’ too joined the band wagon. The entire unit is jubilant with full house first week collections in all the centers. Under these circumstances Nag, in a relaxed mood stole some time to chat with the media.
What is the outcome of King’s release?
Sparkling! I’m very happy to see the record collections. It is surely a money spinning, project. I’m constantly receiving call from people in various walks of life appreciating the movie.
Did you expect this success?
It is more to do with Sreenu Vytla who, by his hard work has been giving hits after hits. So his popularity and success path has given much needed publicity for the movie. This apart the performance of Srihari, Trisha, Mamatha and Brahmanandam is also a great factor for its success. Particularly I want to express my appreciation to Mamatha for her best performance.
What is your opinion on length of the movie?
Look, generally the audience come for the entertainment. A few minutes here and there does not matter. If you watch Ghajini is it not a hit in spite of being more than 3 hours. Sreenu Vytla compromised on cutting two three scenes which I would not approve.
What impressed you the most in this film?
Frankly I like entertainment films. But it is hard to come my way now a days. After ‘Hello Brother’, I’ve not come across one such film. Now after watching ‘Dhee’ I decided to work with Sreenu. Infact the entire King has been carved with the crafty hands of Sreenu Vytla. Infact it is amazing to see how a few scenes were shot by him. That is why we have advertised as Sreenu Vytla’s film.
Is there any sequel on the cards?
Infact on seeing the climax it gives one such feeling. But if you see Srihari’s performance in Dhee it will look like the role in King is something like continuation of his role in Dhee.
When is your movie with Sekhar Kammula taking off?
The schedule time of February has now been postponed. It’s due to King’s impact. After seeing the character role in King, Sekhar Kammula is now not happy with his present script and hence he is looking for a much stronger one. So the project will take off only when he finds one such script.
Do you find some threat from young heroes?
No! Infact we need them. I’m doing roles according to my age and cannot do the roles what they do. My days of doing movies like Siva and Geetanjali are gone and it is their cup of tea now. But my advice to them is to confine to roles of their age and experience and not try something beyond.
What is your opinion on film industry now?
Piracy. It is something like terrorism to country. Infact when I visited many of the film unit personalities I could painfully see the pirated copies of King. So unless we take an oath to kill piracy, the future of film industry will be very bleak. One should take an example of Karnataka where it is difficult to find pirated CDs due to sincere co-operation and sentimental values.
What is your role in politics, are you supporting Congress?
I like acting and would continue to be an actor.
What is the impact of recession on film industry?
In one way this situation will bring out the real talent in the industry. We have seen the days where people were earning in real estate and pumping that money in movies resulting in all kinds of qualities of movies. And also sometimes due to lack of funds the movies don’t get completed and all the efforts go waste. Now we are on cross roads where even corporates are suffering. So this is the time where one such soul which really sees the bread from movie industry will continue to remain and all others will vanish.
What kind of movies would you prefer in future?
Something like Bollywood’s small budget film ‘A Wednesday’.
What are the plans of expansion of Annapurna Studios?
I’m waiting for the permission from development authorities. On receiving these necessary permissions we will add 16 shooting floors on 7 acres of land. In addition to this I’ve plans to launch an Film Academy to impart training to the aspiring people with the help of good trainers from overseas.
What is your next project?
I’m yet to decide on that. I may do yet another movie with Siva Prasad Reddy.
