Expressionless' actor: Nagarjuna speaks about his upcoming and future projects

The upcoming film Oopiri challenged Nagarjuna more than any of his other films. And if you have watched the French film Intouchables, you’ll know why.
Like the protagonist in Intouchables, Nagarjuna is wheelchair-bound throughout Oopiri.

“Half of our expressions come from body language, so I had to be very careful not to move my legs or hands. Moreover, the character is not a serious one, he jokes, he laughs and he enjoys life. So it wasn’t easy playing the character,” says Nagarjuna, adding that it needed a lot of patience to sit in the chair.

“I sleep around 9.30 pm, but when I was shooting for Oopiri, most of the time my body was at rest. So when I would go home I couldn’t sleep till 12.30 am. After the shot was over, I used to walk around the sets as I had sat for so long.”

“But five minutes after the film starts everyone will forget that I sit in a wheelchair. Though he is stuck to the chair, he lives life like a king.”

“I had watched Intouchables four years back and I thought  somebody should come up with these kind of films in Telugu. The French film was a huge hit all over the world. After four years director Vamsi approached me and said he wanted to do a film and couldn’t think of anyone except me. He even told me that if I said no he would cancel the project. He showed me the film and I immediately told him that I would do the role,” Nagarjuna adds.

There’s another reason why he accepted the role immediately. “It was a sign. I thought of the film four years back and then they bought the rights and approached me, so I thought it was made for me.”

He adds that the film is an inspiration because it’s a true story. “It not only gives inspiration to the disabled, but anyone can get inspired from it,” he says.
Asked what was the real life connect for him in the film, he says, “Friendship! The bonds are so strong and there’s so much greatness in friendship,” says.

“I like to drive. In Paris we got permission to shoot for the whole night and Karthi was driving the car while I had to sit next to him. It was a very difficult scene and I couldn’t control myself. Of course, after the scene was over I drove on the streets of Paris,” laughs Nagarjuna.

He adds, “Karan Johar wants to remake Intouchables in Hindi as he has brought the rights. So he is waiting for the film’s release because before making any changes, he wants to see the response to this film first.”

After Soggade Chinni Nayane, did his fellow actors congratulate him? “No one put up any messages, but when I met them they spoke at length. Chiranjeevi spoke to me about the film for nearly 20 minutes he liked it a lot. Venky also told me about it. Mahesh went overboard and said ‘What is this Nag? It’s superb and fantastic’. I think the young actors don’t know the etiquette but its alright,” says the actor.

At this age Nagarjuna says  he is enjoying his work. “Also, I am excited that people are looking for new genres. I don’t think about the collections or numbers, instead only that I should do justice to the role and make it believable. Then the film will definitely do well at the box-office,” he says.
Thoughts of retirement are not on his mind. “I never think about retirement. Unless circumstances make me quit, I would love to continue working and I am not ambitious to be the lead actor for my whole life. Nobody can fight time and age. You have to move,” he says.

Talking about his upcoming projects, he says he is doing Namo Venkatesa, a devotional film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, and the sequel to Soggade Chinni Nayana.

‘Experiment’: Nag’s advice to young actors

Asked what advice he would give the present crop of actors, he suggests they don’t fall in the image trap. “There are only a few actors who have superstardom and are doing different characters, like Amitabh or Aamir Khan.

“I don’t see anybody getting away from that image, so I would advice youngsters to come out of it. Concentrate on the content and choose different scripts, stardom will come later,” he says.

“Except Jr NTR, many of the present superstars become superstars only after 30. They were good actors by that time and they got maturity to choose their roles. I have told my sons too, not to work for stardom,” he says.

Nagarjuna adds that Salman Khan too did the same. “With Bajrangi Bhaijaan he completely broke the image and he succeeded with it.”