Out of many comedy heroes in the younger lot, Allari Naresh established himself a special place. His comedy timing, hilarity and antics got him many fans and his films focus only on comedy throughout. The actor’s new film Selfie Raja is all set to release tomorrow and here is an iQlik exclusive chitchat:
Hello Naresh..
Hi..
What is Selfie Raja all about?
My character is obsessed with taking selfies and has a loose tongue. The film is all about his obstacles and how many enemies he gets because of these two habits. I will be seen in multiple getups in this film.
What is the reason behind taking such peculiar subject?
The word Selfie itself was non-existent until the time smart phones and front cameras became vogue. Now it has become almost like a mania. Earlier we used to ask for a selfie only to friends or close people but now people are ready to click a selfie with strangers as well. Some people are taking selfies even with daed bodies! We tried to show the consequences of this mania in a funny manner. The film focuses on current trend in a satirical manner.
What was the Vijay Mallya selfie incident all about?
It was purely graphics and photoshopped image. I haven’t met Vijay Mallya at all. The main reason for including that scene was the ongoing controversial popularity of him and we wanted to show how a person who has absconded will also be featured in a selfie.
The film’s trailer had the infamous "Cheppanu Brother" dialogue. Can you please tell us about it?
Though the trailer had nearly 10-15 punch lines, everyone seems to be talking about this particular one. It has become a hot trend and we used it in a funny situation. I am sure Bunny also will like the situation in which it is used and he happens to be a good friend of mine.
Do you personally like clicking selfies?
Though I like the trend I am kind of scared because of the hyper effect it is showing on people. When I went to GVK mall and was on the way to washroom, a guy came and asked for a selfie. Wherever one goes, selfie madness is haunting. It is happening even in places like death ceremony. It is really odd to give poses at such unlikely places. In short, selfies has become a menace. Moreover, because of my height I am the first choice in a group to take selfies!
You haven’t had a proper hit in 2-3yrs. What do you think is the reason?
I don’t see any particular reason because I always do films with equal liking. I don’t want to blame anyone for the failure because it is collective. I want to experiment on movies all the time and Laddu Babu was one such experiment. But except for my voice, my presence was limited in the film. When people criticized that my films have less importance to female leads, I did Brother of Bommali and James Bond which backfired. Still I am looking forward to experiment more.
Did you change any approach after such series of failures?
Well, I was working for two films in a month where the first fifteen days was for one and the remaining days for the other. But now, I am focusing only on one film at a time. With the ongoing decrease in quality of Comedy films, we wanted to give good quality comedy flick with Selfie Raja. Every aspect of filmmaking was carefully observed this time. I started shooting for Selfie Raja last December and it is the longest film for shooting in my career. I was looking after the rushes and made appropriate changes.
Did you ever feel competition in comedy heroes is tougher?
During Sr NTR days, there were separate comedy tracks for comedians in the form of Rajababu and Relangi. But with the advent of Chiranjeevi, the lead hero himself started doing comedy. Suddenly, comedy became an important aspect of the film. Now everyone is doing comedy but I have the advantage of doing an out and out comedy film. While everyone’s focus is diverged to action, fights and sentiment. I am happy that the audience expects sole comedy only from me and hence I don’t feel such competition.
If there is any film of your dad’s which you want to remake, what would it be?
It would be undoubtedly Aa Okkati Adakku!
Do you think such competitive writers are there now?
We do have good writers but they are considerably less in number.More number of writers are really needed but unfortunately most of the writers are turning directors after few films. We are facing a scarcity of writers now.
Upcoming projects?
I will be doing a Tamil film with Samuthirakani and it would be dubbed into Telugu later.
Okay..thanks and wish you the best for Selfie Raja!
Thank you!
ALSO SEE :
Selfie Raja Comedy Punch Trailer
