T-TOWN SENIORS GO SPIRITUAL

T-TOWN SENIORS GO SPIRITUAL

Close on the heels of Balakrishna, who received accolades for playing Lord Rama in his last flick, are Nagarjuna and Venkatesh who are all set to play spiritual characters

Suresh Kavirayani

Aspiritual wave seems to have hit T-Town of late. Soon after the release of Balakrishna's mythological film "Sri Rama Rajyam", Tollywood's two other senior A-listers — Nagarjuna and Venkatesh — are all set to play spiritual gurus.
For Nagarjuna, this is no new genre. He had delivered hits like "Annamayya" and "Sri Rama Dasu" almost a decade ago. Currently, he is working on the look for his next film that is based on the life of Shiridi Sai Baba. Nagarjuna says, "I had earlier played the role of saints like Annamayya and Sri Rama Dasu, but playing the role of Shirdi Sai, who is perceived as a deity, is a challenge for me. I was a little apprehensive to take up the role initially when Raghavendra Rao discussed the script with me."
However, Venkatesh will be doing his first 'spiritual' film after playing the typical hero for 25 years in the industry. "It has always been my dream to play Swami Vivekananda and I have waited for a long time to get a well-researched script. I'm glad Mani Shankar is directing my film," says Venkatesh.
Script writer Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, who is working on Nag's film, sees this as a positive new trend in Tollywood. "It's good to see big stars willing to shed their commercial image and do films that are historical, meaningful and that highlight our traditional and cultural values."
suresh.kavirayani@timesgroup

Balakrishna in 'Sri Rama Rajyam'

Nagarjuna as Shirdi Sai Baba

OMG I would have never guessed that Shirdi Sai Baba was played by Nagarjuna.