NTR Jr – ‘I am confidently nervous’

As we come closer and closer to the release date of Devara, NTR Jr and team are slowly but steadily building up the film’s hype with their promotional activities. Letting go of the traditional media interactions, the team went forward with some unique and interesting interviews. What makes these interviews unique and interesting is the interviewers, who are not traditional journalists, but film personalities. After an interview hosted by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, it is now the turn of Tollywood’s new-age scions Vishwak Sen and Siddhu Jonnalagadda to interview Tarak and director Koratala Siva. 

The entire vibe of the interview is a mix of reverence and fun, as Tarak seems to be playing along with Vishwak & Siddhu’s cheekily conventional line of questioning. When enquired about his current headspace before the release of Devara, Tarak admits that he is both confident and nervous at the same time. “I guess I am confidently nervous”, quips Tarak. 

Siddhu and Vishwak go on to frame some of their questions keeping the film’s key theme fear in mind. When Siddhu asks Koratala Siva what scares him the most at a professional level, Siva says that it all boils down to accountability. “You are expected to work in tandem with a large group of people and live up to the expectations placed by your audience. If I’m not accountable enough, I have reason to be scared. But if I’m doing my job right, then I have nothing to fear”, replies Siva. 

Tarak plays a double role in the film — son Vara and father Devara. Speaking about the process he took before diving deep into the senior character Devara, Tarak recounts a few challenges. “I had no idea how I had to play Devara. For days and days, till I went to the sets actually, I had zero idea. I would keep pestering Siva for inputs but I was still confused. Things became clear to me when I saw Devara as a father. I am a father to two boys as well. I just had to embody this fatherly emotion from my real life into my role,” says Tarak. Describing Devara, Tarak calls him “regal and philosophically aggressive.” 

One of the biggest highlights of Devara is the music by Anirudh Ravichander. Vishwak describes his elation at hearing the news of Anirudh working in NTR Jr’s film. Tarak hails his talent, saying, “He will definitely go international one day, like AR Rehman. He has done a phenomenal job in Devara.”