‘Tuck Jagadish’ is my return gift to fans: Nani

The Natural Star's upcoming film is hitting the screens on Amazon Prime Video on Ganesh Chaturthi

Leading Telugu actor Nani believes that ‘Tuck Jagadish’, releasing on Amazon Prime Video on September 10, will be his return gift to family audiences who always showered him with love and support. “I really feel this is my gratitude towards my fans. This is my return gift for them, something that they will all enjoy,” says Nani.

One of the most sought-after and bankable actors in the industry and the one who is described as a natural star, he is excited over the output of the film directed by Shiva Nirvana, whose debut movie ‘Ninnu Kori’ with Nani was a blockbuster.

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Excerpts from a candid interview:

On expectations

We are very excited. The film has come out very well. It’s going to directly come on Amazon because the situation outside is not clear. This is the best way we could reach out to the audience. There are a lot of expectations and people are waiting to watch the film. I am completely confident that this film will deliver what it promised. Shiva has made a very beautiful Telugu family film. It’s going to release on Vinayaka Chavithi. For all families to sit at home on festival day and watch a film which was made for families, I think it’s a perfect combination.

Comparison with earlier films

This is very different from what I have done before because this is first time I am doing something which includes a huge family. I have only acted in films where I have a small family or a boy who doesn’t have anybody and then all kinds of roles but this is first time I am playing a guy who belongs to a family of 20-30 people.

On the title

In the village we are showing in the film, he is the only one who always tucks in. Jagadish is a common name. He is called ‘Tuck Jagadish’ because of his identity in that village. We have explained in the second half why he always tucks in.

Shooting during pandemic

It was quite challenging like for everybody else. Everybody is going through a lot of changes in their shooting atmosphere because of corona, the fear and situation. It’s different but we are getting accustomed to it.

On OTT platform

This is my second film on OTT. Last year, ‘V’ was released on Amazon on September 5 and exactly one year later, we are releasing ‘Tuck Jagadish’. When theatres have not yet opened in a lot of States, Amazon is giving us a chance to reach audiences across the globe. The moment ‘Tuck Jagadish’ is up, everybody will have access. It’s a brilliant opportunity. When things get back to normal and all theatres reopen, we will have a theatrical release.

Reasons for OTT release

Because of the situation. There are big stakes involved. ‘Tuck Jagadish’ is a solid budget film. In this kind of situation, with 50 per cent occupancy, curfew for night shows and all happening around us and in the USA which is a substantial market for Telugu audiences, there are high number of cases right now. Taking everything into consideration, we decided to have an OTT release.

Next movies

My next movie is ‘Shyam Singha Roy’. We are done with shoot and, currently, post-production is happening. We are looking for November-December release in theatres. I am right now shooting for ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ which will release early next year. This will also release in theatres. Any filmmaker, technician or actor wants to see movies on big screen with audience. So, I am really hoping things will get normal very soon. I have two films under production which I am producing and both are at 70 per cent shoot.