Lokesh’s Humble Start: Told Nagarjuna, “I’ll Just Have Tea and Go”

In his glorious career that spans over four decades, Telugu film star Nagarjuna has hardly played negative roles. In a rare instance, fans will get to see Nag as an antagonist in Superstar Rajinikanth’s keenly awaited gangster drama, Coolie. Nag plays the role of Simon in this Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial.

In a recent interview, Nag opened up about his interaction with Lokesh Kanagaraj before he okayed the negative role in Coolie. “When Lokesh came down for a narration, he asked me if I’d mind playing an antagonist. “If you are not okay with it, we will just have a cup of tea, and I’ll leave,” that’s what Lokesh told me. But I told him that I’m not against it and asked him to narrate the script. I got hooked during the narration and called Lokesh seven more times for narrations,” said the actor.

Interestingly, in another interview, Nag revealed that Lokesh used to tell him to “walk like a tiger” while performing on Coolie’s set. Nag was drawing comparisons between Lokesh’s and his Kuberaa director Shekar Kammula’s directing styles. “On the other hand, Shekar used to tell me, Nag, you are going overboard; keep it normal,” he quipped.

With Coolie and Kuberaa, Nag is set to explore two distinctly different types of his craft. In Kuberaa, too, Nag plays the role of a government officer with a tinge of grey shades. Kuberaa is poised to release in cinemas on June 20.