Nani: Hit or flop doesn't tense me

Nani's first release this year is 'Nenu Local', which will hit the screens on Feb 3rd.  Saying that he will have three releases this year, Nani fields questions on what he thinks about not having filmy background and more.

What is the title justification?  How did you prepare for the role of Babu?

The scenes that play out in a space of 10 minutes in the pre-climax phase justify the film's title. The thing is I never had to learn about how local guys behave by watching YouTube videos. It's because I always was one as a child and a youngster. Only that, when it comes to cinema, the characters are a bit larger-than-life.  

How was it working with Keerthy Suresh?  Is it true that many scenes had to be re-shot because of her?

Keerthy is a very spontaneous actor who improvises on her expression, etc. It was fun working with her. We laughed away when it was reported that we did re-shoot several portions. If we had to release the film on Dec 23rd, it was essential to wrap up the shoot at least 20 days before, which couldn't be ensured because there was confusion with respect to Keerthy's dates, who had also been doing films with Vijay and Suriya.  

You can be called one of the few bankable actors in Tollywood.  

It's good that my films are doing good business. True success is when everyone associated with the film, including the last distributor, makes profits and has a smile on his face. Some times, even blockbusters don't fetch profits for some distributors. They are not real hits. I don't think not having filmy background is a problem. In fact, there is nothing more good. When someone comes to me and says, "I am your fan", I can stay assured that he is my (exclusively my) fan.  

What is your state of mind before the release of 'Nenu Local'?

I am not tensed about whether my film will be a hit or flop. I am excited about the audience watching 'Nenu Local'. I always take immense pleasure in listening to their claps, watching their expressions. That's why I make it a point to watch my movie first day first show with the audience every time.  

What next? Are you going to do Tamil and direction?

I get offers from Tamil. Even now when I am not doing Kollywood, at least a couple of stories are sent to me by producers every month. But I don't want to do Tamil movies because, when I did them in 2013-14, that slowed down the pace. I am not thinking of direction any time soon.  At a time when I am getting so much love and affection as an actor, thinking about direction will be a wrong decision.

People ask me why I work with relatively new directors. I tell them that I work with future star directors. Credit will be mine for introducing them when they become star directors.

When it comes to dialogue-delivery, you have the ease of Venkatesh. The influence of Rajinikanth is also seen.

I have grown up watching Venkatesh garu's films hundreds of times. I am happy if compared with him. May be, Rajinikanth garu's influence is there in the back of my mind. All actors get influenced by others at some level.