Nagarjuna: My father believed in cinema as entertainment, and Chiranjeevi’s work is an affirmation of that

Nagarjuna Akkineni interview: On ANR Awards 2024 in Hyderabad to honour Chiranjeevi, celebrate ANR's legacy, film restoration, AI technology and the forthcoming films ‘Coolie’ and 'Kubera‘.

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’s ANR Award to Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi.

Speaking to The Hindu 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 — director SS Rajamouli. “He 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.”

Talking about the selection of Chiranjeevi this year, Nagarjuna reckons, “He 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’s films are recognised nationwide and he has had a holistic approach in his contribution to society through his blood bank and other charitable activities.”

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’s 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.

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, “Unfortunately most of the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films have not been stored properly. It can cost nearly ₹80 lakh to restore a print. In several cases, we could not find the originals.”

He cites the example of his 1989 film Geethanjali, an iconic musical romance drama directed by Mani Ratnam. “The 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 ‘80s, you can imagine the older classics. Restoring my father’s Devadasu 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.”

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. “My father had stored the films he produced in good condition. All the films produced by Annapurna Studios are also being preserved carefully.”