Aamir Sir's gesture was totally unexpected'

'The amount of warmth I received from Aamir Sir during the shooting of Laal Singh Chaddha is very dif cult to describe in words.'

Naga Chaitanya's film Love Story, where he romances Sai Pallavi, releases on September

24.

Before the release, the star speaks to

Subhash K Jha about the movie, his

association with Aamir Khan and his

forthcoming film with his father,

Nagarjuna.

Aamir Khan had some wonderful things to say about you on the stage in Hyderabad.

It was a truly unforgettable gesture.

He didn't have to be there and he didn't

have to say the things that he did.

It was totally unexpected.

Aamir Sir saw the trailer of Love

Story, and he said he wanted to be

there to support the team.

Having him there at the event was

magical! He is too kind a person. The

amount of warmth I received from him

during the shooting of Laal Singh

Chaddha is very difficult to describe in

words.

What was it like shooting with Aamir in Ladakh?

Lal Singh Chaddha is my debut in

Hindi. And I'm so glad it happened

with Aamir Sir.

It all happened very organically.

I first got a call from his office. Then,

in the night, Aamir Sir spoke to me

over a video call.

I flew to Mumbai and spoke some

lines in front of him. Then, the dates

went haywire because of the

pandemic.

We were supposed to shoot in Turkey.

But that didn't happen. We ended up

shooting in Kargil.

Fortunately, everything fell into place

eventually.

Do you say your own lines in Hindi

in the movie?

Yes, that good. I do, although my Hindi is not

But I play a South Indian character and

they wanted an accent. So they left my

Hindi the way it is.

I had almost six months to work on my

Hindi dialogues. The director sat with

me and we worked on it.

It is not easy to emote in a language

you don't think in. The process took

time. But finally, I owned the

dialogues.

Your last release was Venky Mama with your uncle, Venkatesh. Did you choose a comedy to get over the intense roles you have been doing?

Yes, it was a break. I would like to

add, though, that I like doing intense

films. Real human relationships are my

forte.

More than the comedy, working with

my uncle was on my bucket list. He is great with comedy and family dramas.

It was a no-brainer that I'd do a comedy or a

family film with him.

Doing comedy, let me tell you, is most

challenging; it is the most difficult genre.

Interestingly, when you see a comedy film with

the audience in the theatre, you hear them

laughing at moments that you never thought

would turn out to be funny.

Is a sequel to Venky Mama on the cards?

No, no. But a sequel to my father's superhit film

Soggade Chinni Nayana is happening. It's called

Bangaraju and it will star my father and I.

The plot is slightly modified from the original. A

role for me has been stitched in and there's some

action too. It's going to be a commercial

entertainer.

Is loud acting difficult for you?

While I prefer a more low-key style of acting,

my uncle and father belong to the larger-thanlife school of cinema for which I have to

rearrange my acting chops.

People think commercial cinema is easy. I think

it's very difficult to attempt anything in the

larger-than-life genre.

So is Love Story a larger-than-life love story?

No, Sai struggling Pallavi it's very to and much realise I play in our the a working dreams. realistic class space. couple

The film looks at sensitive issues -- the caste

system and gender discrimination.

It deals with real-world problems.

I play an underprivileged guy new to the city,

trying to find his bearings. It required a lot of

preparation on my part. It was a completely

alien world for me.

Also, I speak my dialogues in the Telangana

dialect for the first time. So far, all my films

have been in the Andhra dialect.

The director, Sekhar Kammula, took me through

my character for months before shooting.

I watched a lot of reference movies like Sairat.

This is the most challenging role of my career.

So far. You've just started.

Thank you for saying that. It makes me happy

about the progress I've made.

What can you tell us about Sai Pallavi?

God, don't even ask! Very patient, very human,

very real, very kind. She definitely

complemented me on screen.

Finally, I hope everything works out well in your personal life. You deserve only happiness.

Thank you, Sir. Thank you for understanding.