Nagarjuna talks about his upcoming release Manam

Nagarjuna is gearing up for the release of his his family film Manam which stars his legendary father the late Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) and Nag’s son Chaitanya. The Big B Amitabh Bachchan who admired ANR greatly, has made a cameo appearance in the film. This is the Big B’s first appearance in a Telugu film. Says Nag, “We didn’t want Bachchan Saab’s appearance to be made public. We wanted it to be a surprise. But nothing he does can remain undisclosed. It’s just a small cameo. I wanted him to honour us with his presence in our family film. My father always thought of Bachchan Saab as one of the finest actors we have. I thought just having him in my film would be an honour to my father’s memory. When I asked him he immediately agreed.” The heat is on for the release, “There is a clamour among Andhra exhibitors to release the film. That feels reassuring. But we have to make sure that we don’t succumb to the temptation of taking all the theatres at our disposal. We don’t want to saturate the market with too many prints.” Is Nag feeling pressurized? “When we started making the film we were not thinking of what other people would think. My grandfather, my son and I wanted to do film together. We’re releasing with an unprecedented number of prints on 23 May. There are no big films being released on 23 May. The election results would be out by then. Luckily for us, even the IPL finals were postponed. So everyone would be in the right frame of mind to see an important film. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous about any film.” Some scenes of Nag’s father could not be completed before his death. Luckily everything that needed to be completed has been taken care of. “My father had a very sharp sixth sense. He perhaps knew the end was near. He completed all the important portions of the film. Whatever remained was not crucial to the plot.” Says Nag, “Whenever I’ve made a film without thinking of the box office outcome it has worked. Manam was made purely from and by the heart. It started as a deeply emotional journey for the family. As it progressed it became more and more precious to us.” Nag says he is a bit nervous about how the film will be received. “Of course there is an anxiety within me. My father’s fans are looking on the film as a farewell to him. But we’re also very confident because all of us have made it from our hearts. Every technician and actor has put his or her heart and soul in it. Manam is a result of our collective prayers.”