Senior actor Naresh’s biopic on the father of Telugu cinema, Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu is releasing this Friday. “I am very lucky that I got to play this role. It’s a period film, so it needed a lot of work,” explains Naresh, adding that the late veteran director Dasari Narayana Rao had appreciated his role very much.
“Dasari wanted to release the film at that time but he passed away. Although the film was completed long ago, it got delayed and is releasing only now. I can still remember the hug that Dasari garu gave me after he saw the film,” explains Naresh. The actor says that he is happy with the way his career has shaped up. “I am at the peak of my career and in the last two years, many of my films have been successful. Nearly 13 films are also in production and right now, I am busy as a character artiste,” he says, adding that he is also ready to do a web series. “The future is going to be all about web series, and I am planning to do one soon,” he reveals.
As for the Movie Artiste Association (MAA) and the endless controversies surrounding it, Naresh asserts, “When two panels contest, there are bound to be differences of opinion, but I want to get along with everyone,” adding that he is not a controversial person by nature. “Nearly 850 artistes got medical insurance while the pension for senior artistes was also recently hiked,” he adds.
Naresh is unfazed over reports that some of the members are planning to remove him from the post of President. “That’s not possible. I was elected by the members and it’s not a nominated post,” he says calmly, adding that he is ready to step down if required. “If everyone wants me to step down, I am ready to do it and I don’t want to stick around. As I’ve already said, after my term ends, I don’t want to contest for the same post again,” he declares.
