Speaking at the pre-release event of 'Sye Raa' on Sunday evening, Megastar Chiranjeevi was at his enthusiastic best to talk about the soul of the movie. He described the biopic as India's pride.

Here we bring you some of the key highlights of the legendary actor's speech:

Today is a landmark day in my career. It's on this day in 1978 that my debut film released. I was unsure about my future. I was anxious, there were mixed emotions of tension and excitement. Forty-one years later, I am going through a similar experience.

'Sye Raa' was not written easily. It had been ruminated over for more than 10 years. It was Paruchuri Brothers' dream project. They could think only of me when they stumbled upon the saga of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, who lived in the 19th century and is regarded by many historians as India's first freedom fighter.

I have played diverse roles in my career. But I always wanted to don the role of a freedom fighter. Nobody ever offered me such a role until I zeroed in on 'Sye Raa'. My wish to play Bhagat Singh remains unfulfilled but I am proud to have done this movie.

My role in the movie is multi-dimensional. It's a complete story telling the rise of a Yogic rebel. When we set forth to do the movie, we inquired about Narasimha Reddy but to no avail. Nobody had heard about him. We relied on some fables and short books to learn about him.

When the idea of this movie was first conceived last decade, it was estimated that the budget would go up to Rs 70 Cr. No producer would have come forward to bankroll the movie. I must here thank Rajamouli garu for indirectly laying the path for 'Sye Raa'. It's only because he showed to the world with 'Baahubali' that a film producer can make profits by making big movies, could we have made 'Sye Raa'. Hats off to him.

When Charan told me he wants to produce the movie, I played ball. We didn't want to put anybody at risk and so, we decided to bankroll it on our own.

When Surender Reddy was told about the project, he was hardly excited. He was quiet and asked a week's time from me. For one week, he ascertained whether he had it in him to handle me and a subject like this one. After he said yes, he went to Goa with his team and wrote the screenplay for 3 weeks. We were amazed by his narration, the way he commercialized things and the emotions in the script. He did all this without distorting the truth.

I had to go through a physically taxing regimen for this movie. I had to do horse-riding and sword-fighting scenes without body doubles. I can't accept dupes. When I put on make-up, I forget my age. I remember only my fans and my image.

The climax war scenes were shot in Georgia for 45 days. It involved 1000s of junior artists. That episode alone cost us Rs 75 Cr.

'Sye Raa' is a youthful film. What else can be more youthful than a film that extols the valour of a great son of this motherland?

I thank Charan for producing this movie without worrying about the costs involved. Forts, palaces, etc were built for different schedules. Production Designer Rajeevan has done a fab job in this.

Cinematographer Rathnavelu has made every frame look rich. I thank him and other technicians for their immense contributions. The action choreography of Greg Powell, Lee Whittaker and Ram-Lakshman duo is great.

I thank Amitabh Bachchan garu, who accepted to do the film within 5 minutes. Vijay Sethupathy is one of the busiest actors. He, Jagapathi Babu and many others accepted the film just because they wanted to be part of a Chiranjeevi film.

Pawan Kalyan readily lent his voice, which will be heard during the intro scenes and the climax. His 2-minute voiceover in the climax is thought-provoking.