Acting in oopiri taught me not to take life for granted: Nagarjuna

What does it take for an able-bodied 56-year-old to play a guy who���s paralysed from neck down? Apparently, a lot of retakes. More than getting the emotion right, ensuring that not even a finger of his moved proved to be quite a challenge!

���We���d re-shoot a scene even if my little finger shook a bit while delivering my line. Even when laughing, I had to ensure my chest muscles stayed absolutely still. Emoting is a lot about body language, but for this role I needed to figure out a way to communicate everything with just my face. It wasn���t easy,��� says

Nagarjuna

, smiling.
However, playing a quadriplegic millionaire in

Oopiri

seems to have filled the actor with a new appreciation for life in general, and an admiration for the plight of those who battle disabilities. ���A millionaire, he has everything, but at the same time has nothing. It definitely made me feel blessed about the fact that I can do things by myself. I have learnt that life cannot be taken for granted. However, I don���t sympathise with people who are living with the condition. I have developed an admiration for them rather, as it takes a lot of strength to go through life without being able to do as much as scratch yourself,��� he explains.
The actor seems to have developed a knack for picking roles that are off the beaten track, starting with

Manam

, in which he played a businessman who runs into his parents from the previous life and takes it upon himself to re-unite them. In

Soggade Chinninayana

, he plays a flirty grandpa who comes back from the dead to fix his lookalike grandson���s marriage. When asked if playing these off-beat characters is his new mantra for success,

Nag

says, ���Roles and characters keep changing, you know. More than how I look or what I do, the content of a film is what determines the watching experience. In the end, how much preparation went into playing a character doesn���t matter. It is the story as a whole that will ultimately draw the audience.���
So what the industry insiders are saying about how Nag has hit the Zen state when it comes to his choice of films is true?
���No. No! Not at all! If I would be in the Zen mode, I wouldn���t be bothered how the film fares at the box-office. But I most definitely want my films to work commercially and reach out to a lot of people. It���s just that I want to blend that with a story which is driven by content.���