Born with the quintessential silver spoon, Naga Chaitanya, the son of one of the biggest stars of Tollywood, Nagarjuna, and the grandson of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, has proved that he is here to stay, not just because of his enviable surname but because of his own talent—be it his 2009 film Josh, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut (South), Ye Maya Chesave for which he was nominated for Best Actor, or a hugely successful Manam.
In his latest release, romantic comedy Oka Laila Kosam Chai, that hit theatres this week, Chaitanya—fondly called Chai—plays a young lover opposite Pooja Hegde, the lead actress of Ashutosh Gowariker’s Mohenjo Daro. Oka Laila has been produced by Nagarjuna under the Annapoorna Studios banner and directed by Vijay Kumar Konda.
Though Chaitanya’s films as a romantic have done better than others, the actor doesn’t want to get typecast. “I’m 27. I want to do roles that I think I can carry off convincingly. I have always loved romantic entertainers and as a actor I feel majority of moviegoers also enjoy entertainment in films. My previous films Thadakha and Autonagar Surya were both action films, so I felt it would be the right time for me to come out with a romantic entertainer,” says the actor, who was last seen in Manam with his father and grandfather.
“Oka Liala Kosam deals with real emotions which I feel a lot of youth will connect to and I believe in more realistic cinema,” says the actor who graduated from an acting school in Mumbai and Hollywood Studios in California (USA).
Post the success of Manam and Autonagar Surya, Chaitanya’s fortunes have taken an upward turn, but the actor is still quite particular about the films he chooses. “The first thing I look for in a script is my connect to the character and if the audience will be convinced with the script and of course the director on how well he owns the script,” says Chaitanya, who thinks Oka Laila Kosam will appeal to the family audience quite well.
Known to prepare
himself for every role, Chaitanya says he did his homework for Oka Laila Kosam too. “I prefer observing people around me and life in general to take inspiration and references for my characters,” says the actor, adding, “I try to recollect as much as possible from my own memories and experiences and try to apply those moments to my characters as well.”
Ask him if he feels the pressure about box-office returns, especially since his last few were not as successful monetarily as expected, the actor quickly responds, “My first criterion is the audience connecting to the film and the producer recovering the investment. I don’t strategise a film to reflect in box-office returns. Yes, it’s always a bonus to see profits after a film’s release, but I think that if you are true to your content, everything else will follow,” he says.
From the beginning till now, Chaitanya has stuck to his guts. “It’s been a great journey so far. The ups and downs have taught me immensely. The journey started off with me deciding to give one film a shot and I love what I do, and can’t see myself doing anything else,” says Chaitanya, adding, “I have always taken the decision for the roles I’ve done—good or bad.”
Currently, the actor is busy with his yet-untitled crime thriller by Sudheeer Varma, in which he’ll be seen opposite Kriti Sanon of Heropanti fame.