Ahead of release of Martin Luther King, senior actor Naresh VK interacted with journalists on Wednesday. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
What is Martin Luther King all about?
My journey with Venkatesh Maha started with Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya. The current phase of Telugu cinema belongs to the young generation of filmmakers, and that’s the reason why I am here. Martin Luther King — in short ‘King’ is an absolute entertainer with a bullet-like message in it. Generally, it is rare we find a movie that has a message and also entertainment. Martin Luther King is an entertainment-based film. The result of early premiers in cities like Visakhapatnam, Warangal, Nellore, Kurnool and was incredible. This is the new trend that was started with Samajavaragamana. If you’re confident with the content, you could show your movie to the audience before the release date. That’s how you reach the audience. Mahayana Motion Pictures Productions held continuous premieres. When I watched with a packed house in Warangal, ladies including all age groups and children watched the show. There were claps, cheers, and roars everywhere throughout the runtime. That was the response we got for Martin Luther King.
It’s a remake of Tamil language film Mandela. Have you watched the original before the shoot began?
“More than saying it as a remake, it is inspired by the events that happened in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Of course, it has the basis of the original work. However the political atmosphere of the Telugu States is entirely different from other regions. It is a fresh film. I think the youth will get more attracted to the film during this election time. We started the promotional campaign in a very unique way.”
You have seen politics from very close quarters. How do you define the present political situation in Telugu States?
I’ve not seen politics from close quarters, in fact I played a very crucial role in politics by keeping aside films for about eight years. I was a busy artiste back then. I am an emotional person, and if I like something I am so determined that I won’t sleep until the task gets completed. During the 1999 and early 2000s, our country was witnessing a wave of coalition governments. And they failed miserably at the helm of affairs. There were instances where governments collapsed in just a single day. Watching all the political episodes on the television, I was moved to tears. After watching the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I had taken a conscious decision to grow as a politician. I was ideologically moved by the great leader. I made up my mind and went to rural Rayalaseema to work there. I was exposed to the public never before when I started working in the faction hotbed. I did whatever I could. Later, I came back to films nearly after 10 years. And I never want to enter into mainstream politics anymore. I would like to deliver the message through films. Actor late SV Ranga Rao garu was my idol. Like how cinema has been changing its form, politics too is changing its avatars.
