{"id":19401,"date":"2024-10-27T03:58:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T03:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/entertainment\/19401\/"},"modified":"2024-10-27T03:58:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T03:58:15","slug":"nagarjuna-akkineni-my-father-believed-in-cinema-as-entertainment-and-chiranjeevis-work-is-an-affirmation-of-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/?p=19401","title":{"rendered":"Nagarjuna Akkineni: My father believed in cinema as entertainment, and Chiranjeevi\u2019s work is an affirmation of that"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Nagarjuna<\/picture><\/div>\n

\n Nagarjuna Akkineni, director SS Rajamouli and Chiranjeevi
\n | Photo Credit: File photo\/The Hindu\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The ANR Awards 2024, which will be held on October 28 in Hyderabad, holds special significance for actor-producer Nagarjuna Akkineni and his family since it coincides with the centenary year celebrations of the late Akkineni Nageswara Rao. Amitabh Bachchan will present this year\u2019s ANR Award to Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Hindu <\/i>in between a shooting schedule at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad, Nagarjuna says that the ANR Awards recognises invaluable contribution to Indian cinema. He cites an example of one of the past recipients \u2014 director SS Rajamouli. \u201cHe has taken Indian cinema to the world stage. Indian films have garnered international acclaim in the past but not much at a commercial level. Rajamouli has made that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Talking about the selection of Chiranjeevi this year, Nagarjuna reckons, \u201cHe is a part of the history of Telugu cinema. My father believed in cinema as a means of entertainment for everyone, not limited to a niche audience. Chiranjeevi\u2019s films are recognised nationwide and he has had a holistic approach in his contribution to society through his blood bank and other charitable activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A file photo of Akkineni Nageswara Rao
\n | Photo Credit:
\n G. Krishnaswamy\n <\/p>\n

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As part of the ANR centenary celebrations, a statue of the legendary actor was unveiled at Annapurna Studios earlier this year. A postal stamp was also released. Ten of ANR\u2019s Telugu classics that were restored by the Film Heritage Foundation in association with National Film Archives of India (NFAI) were screened in theatres across India.<\/p>\n

No good prints of \u2018Geethanjali\u2019<\/h4>\n

Annapurna Studios had hosted a film restoration workshop by the Film Heritage Foundation in 2019. Since then, efforts have been on to restore Telugu classics. Nagarjuna explains, \u201cUnfortunately most of the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films have not been stored properly. It can cost nearly \u20b980 lakh to restore a print. In several cases, we could not find the originals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Nagarjuna<\/div>\n

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Nagarjuna and Girija in Mani Ratnam\u2019s \u2018Geethanjali\u2019
\n | Photo Credit:
\n The Hindu Archives\n <\/p>\n

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He cites the example of his 1989 film Geethanjali<\/i>, an iconic musical romance drama directed by Mani Ratnam. \u201cThe negatives have holes, and the positives are gone. What we have access to is the poor quality that is screened on television. Converting that into a 4K digital format is a long process. If that is the plight of films of the \u201880s, you can imagine the older classics. Restoring my father\u2019s Devadasu <\/i>was a nightmare; somehow we managed to do it. I enjoyed watching it. It was like travelling through a time portal. Not only the visuals, even the sound was cleaned up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nagarjuna reveals that 21 films of ANR were restored, of which the family selected 10 for public screenings. A few more films are in the process of restoration. \u201cMy father had stored the films he produced in good condition. All the films produced by Annapurna Studios are also being preserved carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if the restored films will be available to the public for viewing on digital platforms, Nagarjuna explains that the films are now part of NFAI\u2019s repository and talks are on to seek permission to make them available on the Annapurna Studios\u2019 website. \u201cSince the satellite rights of several older films belong to television channels, we may not be able to share the restored versions with other digital platforms. But, I also heard that NFAI is considering having a platform or a channel of their own through which viewers can pay and watch restored classics in different languages.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI, a potent tool<\/h4>\n

Taking his father\u2019s vision forward is an ongoing process, says Nagarjuna. He points out some of the recent developments at the studio, particularly the Virtual Production Stage. There are further plans to introduce cutting-edge technology for post production. He cites AI (artificial intelligence) as a potent tool to enhance the creative process. \u201cWe all know that Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s voice in Kalki<\/i>, Telugu, was AI-generated. This opens up possibilities for us, actors, when we work in different languages. In every department, from writing to music to post production, AI will be beneficial, depending on how creatively it is used.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nagarjuna also mentions the contribution of the Annapurna College of Film and Media. \u201cMany of our students are writers, directors and technicians. Aarambham<\/i>, a Telugu film made by our alumni, came in for appreciation. The short films made by the present batch of students have been sent to international film festivals. I am proud of their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Nagarjuna<\/div>\n

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Nagarjuna in director Lokesh Kanagaraj\u2019s \u2018Coolie\u2019
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Special Arrangement\n <\/p>\n

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Moving on to discuss his new films, which include Tamil film Coolie <\/i>directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and headlined by Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna says with a hearty laughter, \u201cWhen I watched Lokesh\u2019s Kaithi <\/i>and Vikram<\/i>, I was eager to work with him; I think I manifested this opportunity for Coolie<\/i>.\u201d Nagarjuna has filmed for 15 days for Coolie <\/i>and says the experience has been satisfying.<\/p>\n

He is also a part of director Sekhar Kammula\u2019s Kubera <\/i>co–<\/i>starring Dhanush. \u201cMy character in this film is in contrast to that of Coolie<\/i>. I have truly admired Sekhar\u2019s sensibilities. It has been a journey of unlearning and learning. Sekhar would tell me that he does not want me to walk like a hero. I would explain that it is my natural walk. But he would want something else that seems more realistic. It has been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Published – October 27, 2024 08:13 am IST<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nagarjuna Akkineni, director SS Rajamouli and Chiranjeevi | Photo Credit: File photo\/The Hindu The ANR Awards 2024, which will be held on October 28 in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[55870,55876,55875,45713,7794,55871,45716,55874,49224,3085,3091,2886,37268,19216,2179,12842,55872,7194,44039,37269,47194,26515,45715,2957,55873,6899],"class_list":["post-19401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-actor-nagarjuna","tag-affirmation","tag-akkineni","tag-akkineni-nageswara-rao","tag-amitabh-bachchan","tag-annapurna-studios","tag-anr","tag-anr-centenary","tag-believed","tag-chiranjeevi","tag-chiranjeevis","tag-cinema","tag-coolie","tag-dhanush","tag-entertainment","tag-father","tag-geethanjali","tag-hyderabad","tag-kubera","tag-lokesh-kanagaraj","tag-mani-ratnam","tag-nagarjuna","tag-nagarjuna-akkineni","tag-rajinikanth","tag-sekhar-kammula","tag-work"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t