He may have tickled the audience’s funny bone many number of times in an impressive career spanning 18 years and over 55 films, but Allari Naresh has decided that he doesn’t want to be tied down to the comedy genre anymore.
His upcoming film Naandi (directed by Vijay Kanakamedala) is a crime thriller which sees the actor in an intense and serious role.
“I have been doing comic films for a long time. For a change, I wanted to give the audience something hard-hitting, raw and intense. Naandi is like a makeover for me,” explains Naresh, adding, “All my friends have appreciated my comic roles but they have been constantly asking me to push the envelope and unleash my potential as an actor. So this is an interesting phase in my career.”
The filmmakers have released a nude still of the actor in a prison. We ask him about the experience of shooting in the nude.
“It was difficult and challenging, but it wasn’t embarrassing. I am an actor, I shouldn’t be embarrassed about my physical appearances for a role,” the actor said, adding, “I got into the character of a prisoner so well that I lived it.”
Naresh says Naandi is the first film for which he has shot without makeup. Also, he had to unlearn quite a few things for his part.
“We want to keep the film as realistic as possible. I play a guy who lost everything in life and has nothing to celebrate. So, I need to make sure that my body language is calm and composed, unlike in my earlier films where I was energetic,” reveals Naresh, who will sport three different looks in different time zones in the film.
The Sudigadu star describes his journey in the industry so far as ‘a roller-coaster ride’.
“When I debuted with Allari in 2002; I thought it would be great if I could do five films. But I look back; the journey has been great and fulfilling,” he reflects, giving the major credit to his late father, the filmmaker E.V.V. Satyanrayana.
“Filmmaker Ravibabu was the first to believe that I could act and got me into the comedy genre, so I am indebted to him forever. Comedy gave me an identity and I will never leave it. But what I am today is all because of my father. We made eight films together, out of which seven were hits. Whenever I had a flop, he gave me superhits,” reminisces the Seema Tapakai star.
