Nag Ashwin on ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ and Prabhas’s pan-India film

Nag Ashwin, the ‘Mahanati’ director, awaits the release of ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ on March 11. The film is his debut production. In this interview, catch him talk about the film, which stars Naveen Polishetty, Faria Abdullah, Priyadarshi and Rahul Ramakrishna. The director also reveals when Prabhas’ sci-fi, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, will go on the floors.

Excerpts:

Non-stop laugh riot

As far as I am concerned, laughing non-stop is the story of ‘Jathi Ratnalu’. Three silly fellows getting stuck in a serious crime is the crux of the story. Like ‘Yevade Subrahmanyam’ and ‘Mahanati’, this is also an experiment.

Tricky to turn a producer

It’s a tricky thing when a director wants to turn a producer. Once you team up with some director as a producer, you have to respect his viewpoint. There may be a clash of ideas. I have learned the art of balancing by doing this film. Obviously, the producer shouldn’t direct the film in any way. At the same time, the director should be given support. I was on the sets of ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ 70% of the time.

Films with a purpose

When I make a film as a producer, it has to have a purpose. Ten years hence, when we watch ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ again, we should all feel good about it. Anudeep wanted to do an out-and-out comedy and we all came together to let him do that.

Comedies take heart to be made

It takes intelligence to do movies in general. But it takes heart to make a comedy. When I listened to the story of ‘Jathi Ratnalu’, I was detached and connected with the story. The film was supposed to release last year. In the past year, we have watched it repeatedly. And yet, we have been able to laugh. It shows that it’s really a worthy comedy.

No immediate plans to dub

As of now, we have no plans to dub ‘Jathi Ratnalu’. But, after its theatrical release, we might dub the movie in a couple of other languages. A film like this needs offbeat thinking. I did ‘xLife’ for Netflix’s ‘Pitta Kathalu’ because I wanted to do something after a long gap.

Prabhas’ film gets delayed

When Prabhas garu’s movie was announced, I thought the gap won’t be big. It’s a new kind of film. Just to understand how it has to be made is taking the time. With ‘Mahanati’, we could just rent vehicles and shoot. With Prabhas garu’s movie, everything has to be built from scratch. The hero has given us full support. The plan is to start the shoot in July.

Prabhas made me feel comfortable

Prabhas garu is very comfortable to be with. I went to him with the idea that he is a big star and it would be difficult. He made me feel comfortable before listening to the narration. He is probably not aware of the craze he enjoys. He probably doesn’t see social media posts on him. He doesn’t bother about how much is films collect.