Nagarjuna Akkineni has looked back at his early years in cinema and said his first success came more from public curiosity than his own confidence as an actor. The Telugu star made his debut with ‘Vikram’ in 1986, but he said he took time to understand films and find roles that matched his instincts. He also recalled how he followed Mani Ratnam in Chennai for nearly a month before they finally made ‘Geethanjali’.
Nagarjuna on 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, legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, for guidance 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 purely because people were curious to see how ANR’s son would act. I did around seven films after that, which were for the sake of it. But I got my big break with the mass audience with ‘Aakhari Poratam’ (1988), and that purely worked because of Raghavendra Rao and Sridevi. I was like a doll in that film.”The actor said ‘Aakhari Poratam’ helped him reach the mass audience, but it did not make him feel fully satisfied with his work. He wanted a film that gave him more space as a performer.
Nagarjuna and Mani Ratnam’s ‘Geethanjali’
Nagarjuna said he found that direction after watching Mani Ratnam’s ‘Mouna Ragam’. The film convinced him that Ratnam could bring out a different side of him.He recalled, “I was unhappy with my films, and I wanted to do something I liked. I watched Mouna Ragam and felt like I would do well in a Mani Ratnam film. I knew he lived in Poes Garden in Chennai and that he would go on a walk every day at 6 AM. I pursued him for around a month while he was out on the walk. He would allow me to talk to him for 10 minutes before avoiding me. But during our brief meetings, I convinced him to work with me. That’s when we made Geethanjali (1989).”‘Geethanjali’ became a commercial hit and later gained cult status. The tragic love story, backed by Ilaiyaraaja’s music, ran for more than 100 days in theaters and marked a turning point in Nagarjuna’s career. He was recently seen in ‘Naa Saami Ranga’, ‘Kuberaa’ and ‘Coolie’.
