Naga Chaitanya's first reaction when he was approached to play his legendary grandfather ANR in 'Mahanati' was to say a big 'No'. But he couldn't say it upfront to Nag Ashwin.

"When Nagi offered me the role, I thought I will ask my father first. I believed Nanna garu will definitely say no. I thought I will have an excuse to reject the film. I wanted to tell Nagi, 'Intlo oppukoledu'. But once I was on board, I was ready to give my all. I was ready to give even 500 or 1000 takes if the need be," the 'Savyasachi' actor says.

Chay was asked to be himself. "I was told not to try to be exact. I was asked to act just keeping the essence in mind. That helped me a lot," the actor adds.

The 'Yuddham Sharanam' actor shares an interesting anecdote about what drove him to watch 'Devadasu', ANR's classic. "Fifteen years back, I was asked (by my teacher) if I had watched the film. When I said no, I was banished from the class. I was asked to come back only after watching it," Chay reveals.

Which scene in 'Mahanati' took a lot of effort for him? "I love the way Devadasu plays with a stick while talking to Parvathi. I wanted to portray the mannerism with ease. I worked a lot on it," he says.

Shooting for the two minutes in the movie was the "most nervous experience of my life," Chay says.