Nagarjuna to Akkineni he looks back on his early years in film and says his early success came more from public curiosity than his confidence as an actor. The Telugu star made his debut with ‘Vikram’ in 1986, but said he took time to understand films and find roles that matched his instincts. He also remembered how he continued Mani Ratnam In Chennai for almost a month until they finally didGeethanjali‘.
Nagarjuna in his first film ‘Vikram’
According to MoneyControl, Nagarjuna spoke about his early career during his appearance on Jagapathi Babu’s talk show ‘Jayammu Nischayammu Raa’. He admitted that he depended on his father, the legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Raoto guide him in his first years.Nagarjuna said, “Vikram (1986) was my first film; it was a remake of Jackie Shroff’s first film Hero (1983). It worked well because people were curious to see how ANR’s son would perform. I did about seven films after that, which was why. But I got my big break with the mass audience with ‘Aakhari Poratam’ (1988), which flopped thanks to Raghavendra Rao and Sridevi. I was like a doll in that movie.“The actor said that ‘Aakhari Poratam’ helped him reach the mass audience but did not make him feel completely satisfied with his work. He wanted a film that would give him more space as a performer.
Nagarjuna and Mani Ratnam’s ‘Geethanjali’
Nagarjuna said he found this direction after watching Mani Ratnam’s ‘Mouna Ragam’. The film convinced Ratnam that he could bring out another side of himself.He recalled, “I was not happy with my films, and I wanted to do something that I enjoyed. I saw Mouna Ragam and felt that I would do well in a Mani Ratnam film. I knew that he lived in Poes Garden in Chennai and would take a walk every day at 6:00 AM. I followed him for about a month as he went out for a walk. He would let me talk to him for 10 minutes before he avoided me. But during our brief meeting, I convinced her to work with me. Then we did Geethanjali (1989).“‘Geethanjali’ became a commercial hit and later achieved cult status. The tragic love story, accompanied by Ilaiyaraaja’s music, ran for over 100 days in theaters and marked a turning point in Nagarjuna’s career. She was recently seen in ‘Naa Saami Ranga’, ‘Kuberaa’ and ‘Coolie’.
