Jr NTR: RRR happened because of the equation I and Ram Charan share, only SS Rajamouli could've pulled this off

There are only a handful of industry kids in cinema, who carve an identity of their own and whose popularity extends beyond the film family they belong to. Jr NTR is the grandson of NT Rama Rao, the greatest actor that the Telugu industry has ever produced, but he wears that identity as a badge of honour with humility and not as an excuse to show off his legacy. He is a good performer first and a star next and that probably explains why his stardom is beyond commercial success and failure.

RRR, set in the 1920s, isn't only the first pan-Indian film in his career but also his fourth collaboration with director SS Rajamouli, who gave him his very first commercial success, Student No. 1. He is cast as Telangana's legendary warrior Komaram Bheem, who dedicated his life to fighting for his tribal group against the oppression of the Nizams. From collaborating with Ram Charan in the film to the absence of a reference point to play Komaram Bheem and his idea of multistarrers, Jr NTR bares his heart out in a candid conversation with OTTplay.com 

How RRR the film took off, his camaraderie with Ram Charan on and off sets

The characters we got in the film was because of the friendship I and Ram (Charan) share. Each actor has his strengths and limitations and generally, the director is aware of it and casts us in the film. I would say that our bond had strengthened immensely during the making of RRR. Every day on the sets of RRR was memorable. 

There was something to learn on every working day, an equal amount of fun, mischief and being chided (by SSR). The most memorable moment on the sets would be to shoot for the interval sequence for about 60 nights. The entire film, that you had watched till then, boils down to that moment. It's a point that I was immensely excited about, right during his narration itself. Shooting such a scene realistically is no joke. There's so much happening in the frame beyond me and Charan and I was very eager to see how Rajamouli handled it. And of course, he has never disappointed me.

Learning from Ram Charan during the making

Whenever Ram Charan was watching me perform, he was instinctively in awe of the shot and said 'wow'. I experienced something similar while watching his scenes too. We used to share and talk a lot about our scenes, performances later. I tried to observe his approach to a particular scene and many times, I gave a thought of looking at a sequence through his lens. I learned a lot from him. 

If worried about the uncalled-for comparisons between him and Ram Charan by fans after the release

Gone are the days when fans of both the actors will judge a character's importance by a few calculations, especially when they know it's a film being made by SS Rajamouli. My strong faith is that the audiences are prepared for what they're going to watch, including the fans. It's mental preparation. Our cinema has gone beyond the stage where we make such comparisons. 

Whether he thought of playing Alluri Seetharamaraju at any point instead of Komaram Bheem in RRR

The characters are designed so well according to our personalities that the thought of playing Alluri's character didn't come to our mind. I can speak of Charan's behalf to say the same too (about Komaram Bheem). There was great hunger in us and there are enough struggles that we had with our characters that this thought never crossed our minds. SS Rajamouli had a dream and he thought we would do justice in bringing it alive. That's all!

On the absence of mainstream literature or reference points to play Komaram Bheem - advantage or disadvantage?

We had a great guru and there weren't any reference points available. All I had to do was to stay true to Rajamouli's vision. The reason he only had a two-day workshop was that he didn't want to fill our heads with a lot of history. It is fiction at the end of the day and historical research wasn't necessary for a story of this nature. 

He told us about the characters as long as they last on the screen - nothing more, nothing less. Rajamouli knows what he wants and he makes sure his actor gives that to him. On rare occasions, he is willing to listen to the inputs we give him too. There are incidents that he has implemented them also. It's about striking a balance between giving what Rajamouli wants and what else can you do with it.

I always feel life is easier for an actor without reference points. I feel our mind stops thinking at a point when we have something to refer to. Without the reference point, entering a set gives the vibe of a playground or a warfield. I don't think I would've done the film if not for SS Rajamouli (even if they had the same casting in place too). No one has the guts to tell a story like RRR beyond Rajamouli. 

Shooting experiences in Ukraine

What was more fascinating by itself, the people in Ukraine, they were friendly and extremely professional to the core. I was shocked to see them perform our dance style that is alien to them. You have interactive shoots happening mostly in Ukraine. They have the curiosity to learn always and the place grew on me and Charan with time, be it the food, culture. I hope they have better times to come in the near future.

The idea of multistarrers and if he's game for more in the future

One thing is clear, there will be many multistarrers in the industry after RRR and the cross-cultural collaborations will multiply manifold. Budget isn't the only issue for multistarrers. What's more important is the trust that a director can give to an actor that he could pull this off. Then we'll see many big stars collaborating. I want to work with the biggest of names, right from Mahesh Babu to Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Balakrishna, Venkatesh. I'm game for it.

The experience of working with Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt

If there's a spoiler, I can say that I didn't have screen space with Ajay Devgn in the film but I did get to shoot with Alia. It was like an exhibition centre, like a Dubai expo where there's so much exchange of knowledge, culture, capabilities and stories. The working style of Hindi cinema and Telugu cinema may be different but what binds us together is that we're all actors. It helped us bond better. We refer to our work as Indian cinema today and not regional films, it explains the drastic change that has come about.