The humour in Devadas is more of the Munnabhai variety; it will leave you in splits: Nagarjuna

It’s been a busy few weeks for Akkineni Nagarjuna. After racing against time to finish dubbing for Devadas, the actor has launched a whirlwind promotional campaign for the upcoming comic caper. The matinee idol seems all charged up as he gets talking about the film. “I play a don, Deva in this film, but it’s not an intense role. He’s not your conventional Tollywood gangster.How he enters the life of Dr Das and turns it on its head is what the film is all about. It’s going to be a laugh riot,” he says.
The last time Nagarjuna played a character named Deva was in the iconic 1994 blockbuster, Hello Brother, which is regarded as one of the funniest films of his career. While the actor brushes it off as a “happy coincidence”, he is confident that Devadas too will entertain the audience. “Devadas has a totally different brand of humour. It’s more like the Munnabhai genre of comedy, but will be just as funny as Hello Brother. Deva and Das will leave the audience in splits, just like how Deva and Ravi did in Hello Brother,” he quips, adding, “My comic chemistry with Nani is so natural. He’s a good friend of my younger son Akhil, so I know him well. He’s immensely talented, so it was good fun to shoot with him. We have some hilarious scenes together.”
Nagarjuna is paired opposite Aakanksha Singh in the movie but the 59-year-old insists that it’s not a run-of-the-mill romantic track. “Look, I’m aware of my age and don’t want to end up looking like a fool on screen. If a romantic sequence is shot, I make sure that it looks natural and doesn’t seem out of place. Aakanksha plays the female lead opposite me but it’s not a conventional love track; it will surprise the audience in a way,” he says.
Nag is all praise for director Sriram Adittya, who’s just two films old. “I’m sure he was under tremendous pressure, but he never showed it. He is very talented and is clear about what he wants. The lightheartedness with which Devadas unfolds is what I enjoyed the most,” he says signing off.
Produced by Ashwini Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies, Devadas is releasing on Sep 27.