Manam journeys into people’s hearts

Telugu film, ‘Manam’ with the late actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, his son Nagarjuna and grandson Naga Chaitanya sharing the screen space for the first time will release on May 23. Nagarjuna and Chaitanya share their experiences during the making of the film and memories of ANR in an exclusive interview.

While fans await the first getting together of three generations of Akkineni family, what makes ‘Manam’ all the more special is that it is only second such film to be made in India with three generations of actors of a family acting together; the first one being ‘Kal Aaj Kal’ that had Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Ranadhir Kapoor in the lead roles.

Even more prominent feature of the film is that it is the last film of the deceased legend, who had been the face of golden years of Telugu Cinema. ANR had ruled Telugu filmdom since the 40s when his first film was released. His popularity remained unfazed though the 50s, 60s and 70s and well into the 80s, even after Nagarjuna, his son, made an entry into filmdom as lead actor with ‘Vikram’ a remake of the Hindi hit film ‘Hero’. Nag’s first film with his father was ‘Collector Gari Abbayi’. And the legacy continues as the third generation was introduced with Chaitanya’s film ‘Josh’.

A film with all the three actors had been in the pipeline for years. It was only after much deliberation and scripts that were rejected, that young director Vikram’s script was considered for it had the magic that Nagarjuna was looking for. “The scripts before ‘Manam’ that came to us were clichéd in that most were on grandfather, son and grandson angle, Vikram’s script was different. The story had the very magic we have been looking for. It is a story that spans over a hundred years from past to future – from the 1920s to 2030s, and evidently there is a lot to show. The script is not intense. It is very breezy and it is very entertaining. There is an angle of reincarnation in the film,” he shares.

Chaitanya, who had worked for the first time with his father and grandfather in ‘Manam’, shares his experience, “Initially I was hesitant to act with them. It took me a while to get used to being before the camera with them. But once I got used to it, it was fantastic. Grandfather was two extremes – he was extremely friendly and I could talk to him about anything as a grandson, but on sets he would transform into the character. He was very disciplined.”

“He would be so good with his comedy that I would start laughing in the middle of a shot and we would have had to reshoot many times. There were these scenes when I had to call him ‘Old Man’ in a disrespectful way. And I was obviously uneasy about it. He put me at ease and made sure I said it right,” he adds.

Comedy seems to be the major attraction of ‘Manam’. And it is not the first time that the Akkineni heroes would be acting in comedy drama. Nag’s films like ‘Hello Brother’, ‘Manmadhudu’ and ‘King’ had ample scope for humour and he explored the opportunity to the hilt. Chaitu’s films like ‘100% Love’ too did not fall short in this department. Even as ANR has had his share of light-hearted scenes that he had enacted with aplomb in many of his films. His out and out comedy-based character in ‘Missamma’ is a master piece by all standards. The teaser promo of ‘Manam’ trending on YouTube reinforces the expectations.

Says Nag, “It is a unique opportunity with all the three generations of our family coming together. I also wanted to ensure everything goes right for the movie and what better way than producing it myself. However, I gave complete freedom to Vikram to choose his crew. Be it Harsha, the dialogue writer, PS Vinod, cinematographer or Anoop Reubens, the music director – and they had done excellent work and brought youthfulness to the film.”

Elaborating on the look and feel of the movie, he says, “Director Vikram is an eccentric genius. He thinks a lot, but does not waste time on sets. He has got a fantastic team. The art director for example, has beautifully recreated the sets and maintained the difference between different time zones. There are a few places in the movie which continue from 1920s to present. He has maintained the continuity even as he has shown the changes subtly. My father who saw the movie during dubbing was extremely happy with the output. “Chala Baga Chesadu” (He has made it very well) – he had said about Vikram.”

The movie started on a joyful note for the family and the fans, however, it was during the course of shooting that ANR’s intestinal cancer was diagnosed and he underwent a surgery. ANR turned up to complete the shoot immediately after surgery, eager to finish the film. He called for the dubbing equipment home and completed the dubbing at his house. ”I do not want some dubbing artist giving my voice’ he had said. He chose to announce his illness to fans and media officially and put an end to any speculation. “I am going to come back victorious,” he had declared. And everyone believed him. He was hale, happy and confident – in other words, he was his usual self. However, destiny had a different plan. On January 22, 2014 Akkineni Nageswara Rao succumbed to cancer, but not before he had a lively chat with his family the night before. “He was a man who lived life on his own terms. His discipline, dedication and professionalism continued to amaze me even during the shooting of ’Manam’. There is so much to learn from him,” says Nag.

Coincidentally ‘Manam’ is releasing at a historic moment when Andhra Pradesh is being divided into two states – Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Chaitanya shares, “We have not thought about the movie in those lines. It is going to be a magical film and thoroughly entertaining. And it will be something that the audience will not expect - very different. And Telugu audience from across the world will like it.”

Clarifying the speculation of the shift of the film industry to Seemandhra region, “It is too early to say if the industry will shift or how it is going to be in future. There may be new studios built in Seemandhra, but the four walls of the studio do not make an industry. For the industry to shift from Chennai to Hyderabad it took so long.Annapurna Studios was built in 1974, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the industry formally shifted. Filmmaking needs skilled labour, technicians etc., - the human resource. And the work force cannot be built overnight,” says Nag.

As far as the release of ‘Manam’ is concerned it is as much an awaited occasion for the Akkineni family as much as it is for the Telugu film audience. No Telugu would want to miss watching the last film of the legend, Akkineni Nageswara Rao who has been a household name across Andhra Pradesh for decades now.