PremiumNagarjuna Akkineni on Love Story: Sekhar Kammula has moulded Naga Chaitanya into a star performer
The actor opined the success of the film has given a lot of hope for the entire Indian film industry to bounce back
Last Updated: 09.45 PM, Sep 28, 2021
Nagarjuna Akkineni, who's currently shooting for Praveen Sattaru's crime thriller The Ghost and hosting Bigg Boss Telugu season 5, expressed his happiness on the success of Sekhar Kammula's Love Story (that stars his son Naga Chaitanya) at a meet held in Hyderabad today. The actor, who generally remains composed and guarded with his emotions, opened up like never before on the stage on Monday. Love Story, featuring Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi in lead roles, ever since its release on September 24, has set the box office on fire across the Telugu states and international screens.
"I don't see this as a Love Story success meet today. This meet is a triumph of humanity. We've seen two waves of the pandemic and finally reached a stage where there haven't been any COVID-19 related deaths in Telangana after 208 days. The situation is getting better in Andhra Pradesh as well. It's all thanks to our leaders of both the states, their timely decisions that we've come this far after crossing many obstacles. The success of Love Story has paved a way forward not only for Telugu cinema but for the entire Indian film industry," Nagarjuna said.
He added that Telugu audiences have time and again proved that they will come to the theatres to watch a film made by a promising team. "In situations when even Bollywood films are struggling to garner Rs 3-4 crore share, Love Story grossed Rs 7 crore on day one alone. Nearly five decades ago, crowds braved torrential rains to watch Prema Nagar at theatres. Now, they have battled COVID-19 and rains to enjoy Love Story as well. We, the Telugu film industry, is privileged to have an audience like this."
Nagarjuna showered praises on Sekhar Kammula, Sai Pallavi's dance moves, composer Ch Pawan's rollicking album, the producers. He conveyed his gratitude to lyricist Suddala Ashok Teja, who has the rare distinction of penning songs for three generations of the Akkineni family. "My heart swells with pride when I talk of Naga Chaitanya. It's two different things to be a star and an actor, but Sekhar Kammula has moulded him into a star actor. He is a rare filmmaker who tells sensitive stories with the right commercial appeal. I was shocked by how seamlessly he wove such serious social issues into the story. The film haunted me for days after I watched it. I genuinely believe this is a modern-day classic. Films like Love Story don't happen often," he signed off.