Naga Chaitanya: I have learned a lot from Venky Mama

Naga Chaitanya talks about his upcoming release ‘Venky Mama’ in which he shared screen space with his mama (maternal uncle) Venkatesh. Excerpts…

How tough was it shooting for Venky Mama?

During the shoot of the film, I was very tense as I had Venky in front of the camera and Suresh Mama behind the camera. I was very nervous as to how I would shoot with two legends. I had a really tough time shooting with Venkatesh uncle in the first two days as he was doing things easily and I was finding it very hard. But slowly things have settled down.

What have you learned from Venkatesh while doing this film?

How to be calm in life is one thing that I observed from him. He is very silent and when the camera is on, a new Venkatesh comes out and does the job. I also learned how to balance work and personal life from him perfectly. He is a master at comedy and I picked up a few nuances of acting from him.  

Can you describe the film to us?

It is all about bonding between a mama and an alludu. How it goes wrong because of a stupid topic called astrology is the main theme of the film. There is an army backdrop also in the film and how it is linked to the main story forms the crux of the story. 

Will your army role convince the audience?

That is my biggest fear as of now. Till now, my action avatar has not worked well in any movie. But Suresh Mama and Bobby have designed my role in such a way that it would impress the audience. The film's fate also depends on this aspect and if it clicks, things will work for me big time.

News is that Samantha is getting involved in your career these days?

All this is fake news. I do take the help of Sam only to know how my film's output is. She is very frank with her opinions and does give a very straight forward answer. She loved Venky Mama and especially the second half of the film.

Why are you avoiding to work with new directors?

I am completely a director's actor and I feel only experienced directors extract better from me. I have worked with debutant directors in the past but the results were negative. So, I am sticking to experienced filmmakers. 

Difference between Annapurna compound and Suresh productions?

My dad is a very chilled out producer and gives a free hand to the team or the director who is handling the film. Whereas Suresh Mama is a very strict producer who is always on the set and is handling every single aspect of the production, right from its inception. Both have a different school of thought.

How is Shekhar Kammula film shaping up?

Oh, I love that film. We have wrapped up 40 % of the shoot. It is very nice coming through and if it clicks will be the best film of my career. I am eagerly looking forward to the release of the film.