‘Devara’ diaries: NTR Jr’s nervousness, Saif Ali Khan’s excitement

NTR Jr’s much awaited film ‘Devara’, featuring Janhvi Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and others, is all set to release on September 27 in different languages. The film is directed by Koratala Siva and presented by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Anil Thadani.

The trailer of the film was released recently with much fanfare. Speaking at the launch event, NTR Jr confessed that he was a bit nervous about this film as this was his first solo release after six years. He said, “I am very nervous at the moment, because after ‘RRR’ this is my next film. ‘RRR’ was with my co-actor Ram Charan, this is my solo release after six years, so there is a lot of nervousness building.”

At the same time, he added, “I am very happy to launch the trailer of ‘Devara’ in the city of Mumbai, because the experience we’ve had was surreal. The acceptance by the North has shocked us all and I hope it repeats with ‘Devara’ once again.”

Like ‘RRR’, ‘Devara’ too has some high octane action sequences. When asked about whether he found any scene in the film difficult, NTR Jr said, “I can’t point out one such action sequence or stunt. I am sure Anil sir, Karan sir, Apurva sir will agree with me that the last 30-40 minutes of ‘Devara’ is going to rock you all. I just can’t wait for people to watch that. The vision my director Siva had at that point and I just can’t wait for the world to see it.”

This is Saif’s first Telugu film and speaking about his collaboration with NTR Jr, he said, “I remember my first shot when I was speaking Telugu. I had sweat running down my back. I felt very nervous in a very different way. We come from the same country, but our states are completely different from one another. It has been a very exciting experience. It was very kind of Tarak (NTR ji) and Siva ji to want me in the movie. Because movies made in the South are mind blowing. To get a chance to act in a film like this, I feel somewhat like a newcomer. I am excited because I have spoken the language myself, and it is a new language for me. I loved the movie and I loved what I have done in it as well.”

Saif is playing a negative role in this film. He credited Vishal Bharwaj for giving his famous negative character of Langda Tyagi in ‘Omkara’ and said, “First of all, I was really excited as I had been offered a movie from the South industry. They have given us so many incredible movies. I think the future is going to be collaborations between North and South and a pan-Indian kind of a scenario. This whole thing happened because Tarek and Siva wanted me in it, I think they had seen ‘Omkara’ and remembered it. I have to thank Vishal ji for that. It was a very interesting character, there was a young version and an old version, and the crazy makeup. I would not call it an anti-hero, rather a straight antagonist. It is like debuting in a new kind of cutting edge Indian cinema. So, it is great for me to be here.”