Nani is called a Natural Star for a reason. But not many have seen the appositeness of calling him the Natural Alternative for producers, given his success rate. In this interview, the 'Nenu Local' star talks about his why he doesn't want to do Tamil, the advantage of being a star without a cine background, and more.

Since 'Attitude is everything' is the tag line of your new film, has doing the role changed you as a person?

No, the role Babu has not brought any change in my attitude. I am the same as I always was. I didn't have to do homework by watching You Tube videos to learn about how local guys behave for I grew up as one. I approached the role normally.

What about title justification?

In the pre-climax phase, a few scenes establish the title. There is a reason why the title is 'Nenu Local'.

Of late, Keerthy Suresh is going places. How was it working with the rising star?

Keerthy Suresh knows how to improvise and reworks her expression on the spot. That helped the film a lot.

It is said that the delay in completing the movie owes to re shooting. What is the truth?

There is no truth in the news that several portions were re-shot. The reason why the movie got delayed is because we couldn't wrap up the shoot by Dec 5th as planned, because Keerthy's dates for Tamil movies with Vijay and Suriya clashed with ours. We didn't want to hurry through post-production as completing RR in a span of 4-5 days would have been like compromising on quality. It's good that Devi (Sri Prasad) got enough time.

Are you jittery about the film's fate?

I am not thinking about hit or flop. I am waiting with excitement for the audience to watch my film. There is a difference between the former and the latter.

You are going to be in the US to promote the film. Is it because you want to expand your market in that country?

I am not there to promote 'Nenu Local'. I will be there to shoot for my next film. Since I am anyhow there in the US, I have planned to watch it in theatres with the audience.

Why did you take so long to team up with Dil Raju?

I and Dil Raju garu have always wanted to work with each other. He had sent to me stories 4-5 times over the years, but somehow something was not perfect with them. But when I listened to 'Nenu Local', I felt the time had arrived.

You are seen as a safe bet by those investing money on you. What is your take?

It's a happy thing if a film does good business. After the film's release, everyone from light boy to the distributors/exhibitors should have a smile on their face. That's what real success is. What is the point if a film is said to be a blockbuster but it doesn't give profits for all stakeholders?

There are only a few stars who are deemed safe bet. And you are one of them, that too without a filmi background!

People tell me I don't have a background (as if it were a handicap). But it's the biggest boon. It's because if someone tells me, "I am your fan", it means he is MY fan.

No individual is bigger than cinema. I would have been zilch without cinema for my qualification is B.Sc discontinued!

Why have you stopped doing Tamil?

I regularly get to listen to scripts from Kollywood writers/directors. At least a couple of them every month, I find very interesting. But I am not in a position to do them. When I look back, the time when I slowed down was in 2013 and '14 when I did Tamil movies ('Sega' and 'Janda Pai Kapiraju'). I don't want that to happen again. When I know the language, I can improvise. But when I don't know the language (that is, Tamil), I can only learn it by heart and say.

Are you wearing the director's hat any time soon?

Direction won't happen in any time soon. Even in the wildest of my dreams, I didn't expect this love and affection as an actor. At this point of time, nothing will be more wrong than wearing the director's hat.

Even though you are a star hero, you are seen working with newbies.

I don't see it as working with new directors. Rather, I see it as giving an opportunity to future star directors. I can claim credit for that.