Akkineni Nagarjuna's 'Wild Dog' will release on April 2. In this interview, he talks about the film and a lot of other things as well.
There were something like 17 terror blasts in the 2000s. Even as the investigation into the Hyderabad twin blasts (2007) were under investigation, other attacks happened in the country. Terrorists were out to create unrest in India. This is the context in which 'Wild Dog' is set.
My character's name is ACP Vijay Varma in the film. He is unforgiving and is given the task of nabbing a terror mastermind who has been living in Nepal as an Unani doctor.
'Wild Dog' has got authentic action scenes. For one, we worked with David Ismanole to learn about the right way of holding a gun, etc. Director Ahishor Solomon enlisted an Army major who participated in a surgical strike in recent years. He gave us valuable inputs about how to hold a grenade, etc.
We couldn't even think of a song for 'Wild Dog'. My film 'Gaganam' didn't have songs. A lot of films these days have no songs. Audience are more accepting of such films these days.
I have become a star only because I have always loved doing a variety of films. I like to do challenging roles. With OTT, the audience have been exposed to international films. With this kind of exposure, their tastes have undergone a change. This is a plus.
We are confident that family audiences will watch 'Wild Dog'. When 'Shiva' was made, many told us that women will not watch the violent film. Women do like gutsy men.
When 'Shiva' was made, we didn't know that it would become a trendsetter. We were advised not to go for even RR. We requested Ilaiyaraaja garu and went to a Bombay studio. 'Arjun Reddy' became a trend-setter. Nobody had expected it to become one before its release. A film becomes a hit for a variety of reasons. We wouldn't know for sure what clicks.
'Bangarraju' is a purely festival film and an entertainer. As of now, I am intending to be ready with it by Sankranthi 2022. But if that doesn't happen, it will release for Sankranthi 2023.
I have a 30-minute role in 'Brahmastra' (Hindi). The film will be a 3-part one. I have one of the best roles of my career in it.
