Venky, Nag keep multi-starrers afloat

With seasoned star Nagarjuna announcing that he is sharing screen space with reigning star Nani in a big-ticket untitled film being produced by Aswini Dutt, he joins the bandwagon of his colleague and seasoned actor Venkatesh in keeping the multi-starrers alive and kicking in T-town.

“I am happy to share screen space with Nani since both the roles are very interesting and above all it is a fun-centric entertainer,” said Nagarjuna, who is doing his maiden multi-starrer with reigning star Nani, albeit, he played a guest role in ‘Krishnarjuna’ with Vishnu Manchu long time ago.

Whereas, talented actor Venkatesh who is hailed as the torch-bearer of multi-starrers set to share screen space with hotshot star Vijay Devarakonda in an untitled film to be directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar. “It is true that the script work is going on for a film with Venkatesh and Vijay Devarakonda, but nothing is finalised yet,” says source, close to the unit.

However, other 50-plus stars like Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna are still going along with their solo-hero projects, while their colleagues Venkatesh and Nagarjuna are opening up a bit and giving screen space to gen Z stars and smartly mixing up multi-starrrers with their regular hero movies.

“Venkatesh has kept multi-starrers alive and shared acting honours with Mahesh Babu and Pawan Kalyan and was always ahead in giving his nod for a multi-starrer provided the script was engaging enough,” says director Sriwass. However, among Gen Z stars it is Nani who is leading the pack by agreeing to work with Nagarjuna, despite his rocking career, and laying a path for his colleagues.

“Nani was very supportive from the beginning once he liked the script. He was happy to work with Nagarjuna, because the script has come out really well and accommodates two heroes appropriately. With both the actors sharing mutual respect, it is bound to exude a strong onscreen chemistry,” says a source, close to the director Sriram Aditya.

Teen sensation Vijay Devarakonda who is basking in the success of ‘Arjun Reddy’ has shown interest to work with Venkatesh for a wholesome entertainer. “Nani and Vijay are confident about their talent and are not intimidated by seasoned actors. The trend augurs well for T-town,” concludes producer Bogavalli Prasad.