Veteran actor Nagarjuna on Friday said his grandmother always wanted a daughter and when that did not happen, she started considering his father and Telugu cinema star Akkineni Nageswara Rao as her daughter. Nagarjuna remembers his father, fondly known as ANR, looking lovely in braids and believes this was one of the factors that attracted the late legend towards acting. At an interaction session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the actor shared several anecdotes about ANR, whose birth centenary was celebrated in September. The film festival is also celebrating the legacy of the Telugu cinema legend by screening the restored version of his 1953 film. Devadasu,
“He came from a very ordinary family, a farming family. He was born in a village near Andhra Pradesh (then part of Madras Residency), where there was no electricity. “My grandmother always wanted to have a daughter. She used to braid it (like women). He looked very handsome and cute. We still have a picture of him dressed as a girl. He looked exactly like my elder sister Satya. Nagarjuna said, I think these were the things that inspired him to become an actor. IFFI 2024: Nagarjuna Akkineni unveils season 2 of ‘Krrish, Trish and Baltiboy Bharat Hain Hum’ animated series at the international film festival,
ANR, whose career spanning seven decades includes diverse films Vipra Narayan, Tenali Krishna, Sri Ramadasu, Laila Majnu, and BalarajuStarted playing women’s roles on stage. “In those days, women were not allowed to become actors or act on stage. So, she started playing women’s roles. She became a heroine on stage for the first time.” As fate took a turn, she was at a railway station When the famous producer Balaramaiah, sitting in the Ghantasala train, saw him walking and said, ‘Good eyes, good nose’. Would you like to act? The rest, as they say, is history,” Nagarjuna explained. In 1944, ANR got his first film Shri Sita Ram Jananam As a lead. Nagarjuna said that after this he moved to Chennai with his elder brother because by then their father had died. She said, “I clearly remember him shaking his hips. He thought it was acting because he did it on stage.” ANR also faced a lot of ridicule from people who made fun of him for his ‘effeminate’ behaviour. “People made fun of him and that really depressed him. He went to Marina Beach where he said he wanted to kill himself because there was so much laughter (ridicule) etc. He told me he was waist deep in the sea water. And then something inside him told him (not to do it) and he corrected himself,” Nagarjuna said. Will Naga Chaitanya and Shobhita Dhulipala’s Indian wedding be a grand affair? Nagarjuna Akkineni spilled the secret.
The actor said his father, who received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1990 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2011, also worked hard to toughen his “weak” voice. “Someone told him that if you smoke cigars your voice becomes harsher. He did not smoke before. He also used to go to the beach early in the morning and smoke 5-10″ to make his voice more husky. Screamed at the sea for minutes.” He added. Nagarjuna launched the second season of the animation series on Thursday Krish, Trish and Baltiboy: Bharat Hain Hum In IFFI. The film festival will end on November 28.