Don't take the audience for granted: Nagarjuna

Akkineni Nagarjuna, who was in the city recently for the thanksgiving meet of his Tamil comeback flick, Thozha was all smiles. Speaking to DC, he says he must thank the people of Tamil Nadu for receiving him and the film quite well. “I am not talking about the success of the film alone. It’s more of the respect Thozha has garnered. I have seen this respect from phone calls and reviews. This is what actors and filmmakers look for. Films become a commercial hit and gain numbers at the box-office. But movies getting respect along with numbers is rare in Indian cinema. That’s what Thozha has given us,” he says.

Nagarjuna adds that the positive response has given him, and Vamsi confidence to make more good films. “Good films meaning not arty types, but movies that make numbers. But I insist on not taking the audience’s intelligence for granted. The intelligence of cinema-goers should be respected. And Thozha has done precisely that,” he says. Thanking Karthi for persuading him to dub in Tamil, which he felt was a nightmare, Nagarjuna says his Tamil dubbing has also been well accepted. “My wife Amala’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing ever since Thozha was released. Everybody appreciated my work and asked her to convey the same to me!” chuckles Nagarjuna.

“Having been in the industry for 30 years, when work becomes a part of your life, there have been times, when I lose interest. But when I saw Karthi’s enthusiasm and passion for filmmaking during shooting, I was reawakened. I recalled how my earlier self was!  Sometimes, you need to be woken up and and I promise that I will do much better in my next film,” he concludes.