Jr NTR on ‘Devara: Part 1’ and how Janhvi Kapoor ‘manifested’ her role in the film

Fresh off the success of ‘RRR’, Jr NTR explains his mindset on ‘Devara: Part 1’, his first solo release in six years, the challenges of shooting the film, and working with Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan

Keeping in fashion with pan-Indian actors promoting their films in centres outside their home turf, Jr NTR was in Chennai recently for the press meet of Devara: Part 1, his upcoming film post the monumental success of RRR. Pointing out how this is his first solo film in six years, the Temper actor has no qualms in accepting that he’s high-strung about the release.

“RRR was a film by Rajamouli; this is all on us! I’m very confident of team Devara thanks to the kind of technicians we have... my director Siva (Koratala Siva), Sabu sir (production designer Sabu Cyril), Sreekar sir (editor Sreekar Prasad) and Randy sir (cinematographer Rathnavelu). Anirudh has been killing it lately, too. They all have done something wonderful in the film and I wish I could show it on my face,” says a laughing NTR.

Speaking of Anirudh, NTR says, “Tamil audiences have been listening to Ani for longer and he’s been rocking. I’ve said it many times; this is Ani’s era. Many technicians have a phase of huge success but after a point of time, it fizzles out. We have seen multiple examples. But I feel this person is here to stay.”

“He puts in a lot of hard work; even if we are in dire need of an output that needs to come in that very day, he doesn’t compromise on it because he knows how important music is for any movie, not just Devara. I don’t remember the last time I actually went berserk seeing Rajinikanth sir and it happened in Jailer... because of the music,” says NTR. “The same happened with Vikram and Master. I’m sure that one day he will go to the level of AR Rahman sir to compose something grand internationally. That’s my vision. There’s so much work he has put in for Devara and the trailer is just a small gist of what’s going to come.”

Elucidating on the meaning behind the film’s title, NTR says, “In our South Indian culture, we have many kula deivams (local deities). In Telugu, these Gods are called devara while the Goddesses are named devata.”

NTR adds that he believes the title has a pan-Indian reach, “As a title, Devara sounded new and thought that this title would work in other languages just like how RRR did. There are two lead characters, Devara and Vara.”

NTR calls Devara his most enterprising project and that’s quite a claim for an actor who has recently been a part of a film like RRR. “This is probably the most ambitious movie I’ve been a part of so far in my career. It’s very high on VFX which is a different craft altogether and Rajamouli has mastered it. He knows when, where, why and how to use it. So it’s not everybody’s cup of tea,” says the actor.