Chaitanya: I relived my experiences with love in Premam

Naga Chaitanya is on a roll. His much awaited and hugely spoken about film 'Premam' is finally ready to come to theatres on 7th October. The film is remake of Malayalam hit. From Samantha to 'Premam', Chay bares his soul. He also talks about Akhil and his impending wedding in this chit chat....

Is 'Premam' better than the original?

While remaking a classic like 'Premam', one can't think of bettering it. We had no aims to improvise on the original or better the performances. All that we did is to take the soul of the original and adapt it to suit Telugu nativity. 

Have any major changes been made? Do you think the director is leaving a mark of his own?

The Malayalam audience are used to watch lengthy movies. They like slow-paced narrations a lot. They like to see it as poetry. On the other hand, the Telugu audience like crisp run-time. We, thus, decided to go for a run-time of 2 hrs 15 mins or so. 

The twist that you see in the original won't be there here. It's a different twist that Chandoo Mondeti has come up with. Chandoo is an out-of-the-box thinker. I understood his potential when I got to interact with him several times during a course of two months. His aim was to make a movie with dad. When dad told him to see him after doing another movie, I dragged him onto my side. Around the same time that 'Dochey' got released and flopped, and I decided to do a romantic drama, 'Premam' got released. Chandoo had in mind to do a straight film, but I pressed him to do this movie. It is unfair to him because he is a very good talent. I will do a straight one with him for sure.  

What was your approach to the role?

My approach to playing the character is shaped by my own experiences, besides Chandoo's insights, of course. I did have many crushes as a teenager and went through many of the experiences my teen character in 'Premam' goes through. I mentally relived those experiences to get the act right. I am a fan of Nivin Pauly and am naturally influenced by his style, especially his act in the portions (with Sai Pallavi). It was a challenging experience to do a role with three variations. 

The film has been trolled on social media ever since the teaser was released. How do you see it?

We didn't expect 'Premam' to be trolled like this on social media. Remakes are nothing new. Comparisons are bound to be there. As I have said, we had no intention to prove that our movie is better than Malayalam original. 

Are you going to do action movies, especially because they haven't worked for you?

It's true that action movies haven't worked for me so far. But I really love the genre and I want to do a realistic action flick in future. 

Why have you kept mum on Samantha?

I don't like to talk about my personal life in public. I am not that kind of person. On social media as well, I confine myself to talking about my professional work and movies. Now that I am participating in promos of 'Premam', I am responding when asked about my marriage with Samantha. 

So, what was Nagarjuna's reaction to your proposal? What do you think about Akhil's love?

When I told dad about Samantha, he felt very happy. He was not surprised. He conveyed through his expression that he always knew about that. I am glad that Akhil is marrying. In fact, one needs to have maturity to marry at a young age. Akhil's marriage will be held first and later mine, next year. 

Is Samantha going to do movies?

Samantha not doing this or that movie has nothing to do with marriage. She will continue to act even after marriage. Nobody has approached me with the offer to act in the remake of '2 States'. If it comes my way, I will happily do it. 

What are your upcoming movies?

'Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo' is done. The Tamil version is pending a bit. Both the versions will be released simultaneously. The film with Kalyan Krishna will be a romantic entertainer with action element. 'Ninne Pelladatha' is not the title. The film will have some flavour of it, though. Then there is another film with new director Krishna, which will be a thriller.