‘It was not easy to move on’

Hyderabad: Jagapathi Babu started his second innings with Legend with a negative role, which has, according to him, opened up a new horizon for his career.

After acting in over 100 films as the lead actor, he realised that it was time for him to move on to other roles. “It was not easy. If you look at the industry, there are many who have played villains and later became heroes. Maybe, I’m the only person who played the lead and then became a villain,” says the actor.

“I decided to start fresh. I knew that I could not impress as a lead actor any more and at the same time, I didn’t take it as a sign that my career had failed. So I started a new innings with Legend,” he says.

He adds that the characterisation, where he gets more scope to perform, also helped him decide. “Legend luckily been very successful and people were shocked to see how my character had finally turned out.”

He adds that the frustration brewing in him helped his role. “I was really in that frame of mind. If the film failed, I knew that my career too might never go forward, so this film was really important.”

Jagapathi Babu is currently working on four films, two of which will release shortly and the third, Lingaa with Rajini-kanth, will hit the screens in December. He has also signed a film where he is playing Mahesh Babu’s father.

“My plan is to give new ideas to writers. They will come up with new subjects keeping me in mind. I feel that the industry takes time to recognise local talent. It usually looks for artistes who are difficult to reach and don’t usually approach local artistes who are available,” he says.

But how could an established actor like him with backing from a powerful production house his rock bottom financially? “Whatever the reasons are, I did lose money. I believe in friendship over money and that’s how I lost a lot. Producers would just come to me and ask for financial help and I would sign wherever they wanted me to. My father tried warning me often but friends remained first priority and money second. Dad too lost everything because of his generosity. Jagapathi Banner was one of the biggest production houses and it did produce many hit films. But today, we are not making any films and it’s almost shut. We are not very business-minded, so we lost almost everything,” says the actor.

Talking about the rumour of promoting actresses who acted in his films and paying them, the star says, “It is a big lie. I have never promoted or suggested any actress for my film. I am not a superstar to recommend a particular actress as the lead opposite me. If any director gives me a few options, then I suggest one. And do you think that nowadays the actresses need any promotion?

“Two people meeting socially is not an affair. I love and respect women. I don’t need to impress them with money. I am also blessed when it comes to my family. My wife and kids are not interested in films and they don’t read film news and are also not interested in watching entertainment news on TV. Moreover, they believe in me,” he says, with intense nostalgia showing on his face.

“I entered films after my marriage. I told my wife that I wanted to act and once I took the step, people would write all sorts of rumours about me. After I explained all this, she agreed and told me that as long as both of us were happy it did not matter. So it has never been a problem for me.”

He adds that since his marriage all his bank accounts and properties are held jointly with his wife. “Both have a joint account and we used the same credit cards. So it is never a problem for her,” says Jagapathi.

The actor likes privacy and he wants the same for his children. “My education wasn’t great, but whatever help my kids need, I give them. I gave them full freedom to make their own choices.” he says. His elder daughter is now 28 and is working in the US. Shy by nature, the actor, never attends parties or events outside his family, “From my school days I have had problems mingling with others easily,” he admits.

“I don’t have friends here. Only Arjun (Tamil actor) is a genuine friend from the industry,” he says.

Talking about his future projects, he says he is playing the father of Rakul Preet in Current Theega, which is releasing on Friday.

He is also in the Rajinikanth starrer Lingaa. “When Lingaa was offered to me, I did not think twice and accepted immediately. It’s a Rajinikanth film and the exposure is huge. I signed without even knowing the story.”