He broke many a heart when he took a bow from Tamil cinema some years ago, and went on to rule the roost in Tollywood instead. But now, fans of actor Nagarjuna have reason to rejoice, as he gears up for a return to the Tamil screen with producer Prakash Raj’s bilingual, Payanam, directed by Radha Mohan. So what made him undertake this journey into Kollywood after so long? Catching up with the actor, we find out all this and more.
“I took about ten seconds to say ‘yes’ when Radha Mohan narrated the script to me,” reveals the dashing hero. “For me, 2010 ended with a mass commercial Telugu hit — Ragada. In 2011, which is my 26th year in cinema, I am getting a new lease of life with a new genre, all thanks to Radha Mohan.” Payanam is a hijack drama and Nagarjuna plays a man who has to save lives on the calamity struck aircraft. The film is a far cry from his action and romance sagas, but Nagarjuna couldn’t be happier! He explains, “I usually do action films and play a larger-than-life hero, bashing up 100 people and carrying the responsibility of a film’s success. But in Payanam, I just became part of the script and the onus is on Radha Mohan, not me. That’s a relief.”
About returning to the Tamil screen, he says, “People have asked me why I haven’t done Tamil films. But I have always been comfortable doing Telugu films, because I am settled in Hyderabad. Doing Tamil films would have meant relocating to Chennai, which I could not do. But after I saw Radha Mohan’s version of Abhiyum Naanum titled Aakasha Mantha, I kept telling producer Prakash Raj that I wanted to be part of such cinema. In my heart of hearts, I wanted to do these kind of films. So when this offer came along, I grabbed it.”
Nagarjuna shares screen space with many actors including Prakash Raj, Sana Khan, Manobala, Prithvi, Rishi, Badava Gopi, MS Bhasker and others. A giant set of an aircraft, tarmac and airport was created by art director Kathir at Ramoji Studios, Hyderabad. Ask Nagarjuna about it and he says, “After the shoot we all actually started missing the camaraderie!” So will this be a step in a new payanam towards Tamil cinema? “Sure, if I get good scripts, I would love to do Tamil films, even action flicks,” he signs off.