Interview: Venkatesh Daggubati speaks about Narappa

It is a known fact that Venkatesh Daggubati‘s upcoming film Narappa is all set for a grand premiere on July 20 on Amazon Prime Video.

Ahead of the release, the star actor has opened up about the making of the film and what made them go for the OTT release, skipping the traditional theatrical release.

This is the first time your film is directly releasing on an OTT platform. How does it feel?

For every person, there is a first time doing anything, and I have to experience it now.

By now, you know most of the fans are not happy with the digital release. Want to say something to those unhappy fans?

Everybody will be disappointed for some time. I really feel sorry for my fans. I sincerely apologise and tell them it happened and there is always a time we can watch some other movie of mine on big screens.

What elements in Asuran inspired you to do this remake?

To be honest, I have to first congratulate director Vetrimaaran and hero Dhanush for giving me such a wonderful film. It is one of the classic films with honest and hard-hitting emotional drama.

How challenging is Narappa to you?

It is the most challenging character I’ve ever done. Be it the look, the emotional and action sequences, after a long time, challenged me throughout the making. My emotions were genuine in the film.

How well you are connected to this film?

It gave me tremendous energy, and it shaped up really well. I am really happy that I attempted this film. After so many years, I got such a strong character. Every day i was surprised by the positive result.

How was Srikanth Addala adopted to mass from family entertainer?

We don’t want to spoil a film that is already there and we are honest with what we have seen. He did a wonderful job and there is no doubt about it.

When talked about comparing Ausran with Narrappa, what is your take on it?

The audience will decide how well we performed in the film. Since the content is so strong we had all good actors and everyone did a good job, we can feel a lot of freshness in it.

What passionate you about the remake?

Many things actually. As an actor, it challenged me as I have not got that role here.

A word about seeing yourself in Dhanush’s character?

Dhanush proved himself as one of the outstanding actors in the country. He always does an excellent job. So, stepping into his shoes in the remake is a challenging thing for me as an actor.

Of late, you worked in three different genre films – F3, Narappa and Dhrushyam 2. How you managed to switch in the characters?

After work, I totally forget the film. I have a nature to exit from anything so fast. I do a lot of preparation to exit from the character I’m doing.

It is really necessary to do a remake when we have a lot of fresh content in Telugu?

Nothing is wrong in trying what we feel is right.

Among F3, Narappa, Dhrushyam-2, which movie you enjoyed the working most?

I enjoyed all the movies. When the scenes are coming out well and everyone is performing well, we enjoy all these emotions, and it feels satisfied.

What could be the effect of OTT in the coming days?

Right now, we don’t know how much impact it does. But surely it will change to some extent and there is no doubt about it. So we’ve to wait and watch and we’ve to be open for all the platforms as long as we are giving good films.

What made you feel difficult in the Narappa shooting process?

After doing many actions films in my career, Narappa is the film that made me exhausted. After every action shot, I used to sit there for a couple of minutes as it made me feel drained and I couldn’t get up for the next shot quickly. I could not get my breath.

We heard a lot about your next projects. It is true you are collaborating with Tharun Bhascker and Trivikram?

Yes, I am working on something with Tharun Bhascker. And time and a good script will decide whether or not I may team up with Trivikram.