Nani Ka Naya Avatar

It will be an eventful first quarter of 2014 for actor Nani as his two films – ‘Jenda Pai Kapiraju’ and ‘Aaha Kalyanam’ – will release in January and February respectively. However, the actor is more charged up to see how the audience will react to his first production ‘D for Dopidi’, which releases this week. He has joined the film after liking it. “It is the story of four youngsters who are in dire need of money. They plan to rob a bank and the sequence of events that arise at the bank are told in a hilarious manner,” says Nani while promising that everyone will have a gala time watching it. In a conversation, the actor tells us how he turned producer, what he would have done had he heard the script earlier and the experience of working with Yash Raj Films for ‘Aaha Kalyanam’.

You have turned producer all of a sudden.

If the film is declared a hit, I’ll get the credit with some saying that I made a very clever move, but its Siraj and his producers Raj and DK’s hard work. I liked the films that Raj and DK have made till now and when they asked me to give a voice- over for ‘D for Dopidi’, I said why not? Few days after the voice-ver, Siraj asked me whether I could drop by to watch the film. I said okay since I loved the portions that I’ve given voice-over to. I don’t have attention span and when someone speaks on his mobile or walks away from the middle of a song at a theater, I lose my concentration and cannot focus on the film. With ‘D for Dopidi,’ it was different. I was watching it on Avid and due to some shortcomings, there was break after every 10 minutes of the screening but I was not restless this time around. I was waiting to see how the things unfold and this continued till the end of the film. I congratulated Siraj and told him that it should get the maximum attention before it reaches screens. After sometime Siraj called me and asked whether I can associate with the product. I held consultations with Raj and DK before coming on board as a producer. It was not about the money. The biggest kick in showbiz is to expect the same feeling that you’ve got when you present your film to audience. I was keen on creating the maximum buzz for the film.

Would you have produced the film had the script come your way?

Yes I would have. The film required a cute setup and the idea was novel. Until now, I’ve dabbled different genres coming to acting and when I’m presenting a film, people will have expectations and if I had got a story of this kind I would have definitely produced it. Since ‘D for Dopidi’ was already made, I joined the team later. Even if the film is a success, I won’t be producing films in a hurry. May be if get friends like Raj and DK, I may think of productions, but not now.

How was the whole production experience?

It was a different ball game altogether. What I learnt till now with acting is totally different to what I’ve learnt as a producer with ‘D for Dopidi’. I know the process of filmmaking since I worked as an assistant director, but I had no idea of how to present a film to audience after it was made. How does distribution sector work? How different genres should be presented? I learnt these after I collaborated with Raj, DK and Dil Raju. I wouldn’t have learnt these things even if I had done some 40 films as an actor. I learnt to respect the producer more and understood a new angle of filmmaking. I had no idea about what happens to the film after its release, but now I’ve gained great experience, which I can certainly carry forward.

Since you liked the film immensely, did you ever feel that you would have done more to it had you been in the film as an actor?

The actors in the film were so good that the thought never crossed my mind. Besides Varun Sandesh and Sundeep Kishan, performance of the new actors – Rakesh and Naveen – impressed me a lot.

Tells about your collaboration with Yash Raj films.

It was late Yash Chopra’s dream to make films in South, but he couldn’t fulfill it. It is a prestigious project for them. When I first met Aditya Chopra for the film, I’ve realised how important it is for him. I thought my meeting with him would last for ten minutes but it went on for three hours. He had ten Bollywood films to look after, but he spoke about ‘Aha Kalyanam’ at length. He gives utmost weight to minute details and it was evident when he discussed about how short my beard should be for my role of Shakti in the film. No doubt, he is on top of his game. It’s a fun film and has everything that audience would look for in a typical Telugu film. It is shot partly in Telugu and partly in Tamil. The promotions will begin in full swing from the first half of January.