Realising the dream

Growing up in a family of accomplished actors, it was all but natural for Nawin Vijaya Krishna to be drawn towards acting and he did so. When he was 17, he decided to, with the help of his uncle, tell his plan of action to the head of the family, Vijaya Nirmala. However, the now-happily-retired actor-filmmaker advised him to focus on academics first.

“I was taken aback by what she said but I was keen to associate with films in some capacity. I thought maybe it would be good for me if get into the technical side of filmmaking and maybe that’s what my family expected of me and started learning 3D Animation. Around the same time, editing fascinated me and gradually I started taking it seriously,” Nawin flashbacks in a conversation with Talkies.

Blown away by the way he edited a short film produced by Rana Daggubati, Krishna Vamsi started enquiring about Nawin.

“When he came to know who I’m, he said, ‘Why are you into editing? You should be an actor?’ I told him that my parents objected to the idea. He later asked me whether I could edit his film ‘Danger’. I was shocked with the proposal and asked him whether he was kidding but he told me he was serious. Who would forgo an opportunity to scissor Krishna Vamsi’s work?” he beams, pointing out that since he didn’t have a union card back then and fearing that the union may pose a problem prior to the release, the acclaimed maker gave him the credit of a Digital Editor, though it was he who completely gave the thriller a terse form.

Nawin’s collaboration with Vamsi continued for ‘Rakhi’ and ‘Chandamama’.

“I had some issues editing the dramatic ‘Raakhi’. I was giving it a stylised cut though it was not the need of the hour. Vamsi garu made me to understand capturing the emotion and balancing it with style. He is like my mentor,” he asserts, adding that he had also cut close to 1000-1500 trailers, prominent of which include ‘Pokiri’, ‘Ashok’ and ‘Jagadam’.

As his health started to take a beating given the nature of the job, Nawin had to reconsider editing.

“I was about to explode that time (late last decade) as I was close to 130 kilos. Also, I was just 24. Doctors clearly told me if I continue to work the way that I was, I would not live beyond six years. It was like a reality check. Editing had become an addiction by then. It was like a wife demanding time and attention. It was giving me happiness and at the same time burning me inside,” he informs, revealing that after editing Manchu Manoj-starrer ‘Mr Nookayya’ he decided to quit editing.

“I’ve briefed the family about my health and, to my surprise, they advised me to get into acting. In 2010, I started to lose weight. It took me three years to lose 60 kilos.”

Realising that impressing audience these days is an easier said than done job, Nawin had a brief stint with the famous Satyanand Acting Institute, followed by learning kickboxing and dance (from Bollywood ace choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant).

“She is my maternal cousin. Thanks to her, I lost an additional 10 kilos. She is expected to attend ‘Nandini Nursing Home’ premiere,” he smiles.

Nawin’s first film is ‘Ainaa Istam Nuvvu’, a love story, but as the film ran into production issues, its release has been put on hold. He insists that the issues pertaining to the film are being attended to.

“Some five-ten days of shoot is pending but I’m confident of it arriving towards the year-end or early next year,” he promises.

About Friday release ‘Nandini Nursing Home’, he says it’s a romantic thriller interspersed with humour in abundance.

“I play Chandrashekar, a fake surgeon. In need of money, he gets a job at Nandini Nursing Home, which is ran by Nandini (played by Nitya Naresh), though it is not the job that he intends to do. His friends push him to take it but one day he commits a grave error. That’s one layer of the story. There’s another layer which narrates why he is in urgent need of money,” he reveals little, insisting that his family is excited and nervous at the same time with his debut.

“Grandma told me that she’ll watch the film on the day it releases but she liked the trailer and the songs. Dad had just listened to the film’s idea; he isn’t aware of the whole story. The family is happy and nervous but they are not showing their emotions.”