Rajendra Prasad is this actor’s idol!

Siblings, actors Allari Naresh and Aryan Rajesh made their acting debut in the same month and year – May 2002 – and both their films Allari and Hai did decent business at the time of the release. While Aryan Rajesh wasn’t able to capitalise on a good start, Allari Naresh has become a brand name for comedy films over the years, even touching the 50-film mark recently. Naresh in a recent interview had said that specialising at comedy wasn’t his priority at all.

“It just happened by chance that most of my films that clicked were comedies. My dad (EVV Sathyanarayana) too had an edge with the genre. Many kept telling me that I was good at it and that’s why you saw a flurry of humorous films from me. Dad kept telling me to refer to Rajendra Prasad garu’s films to develop my sense of comic timing. He’s the only actor in the industry to have done comedy while doing lead roles. He remains my inspiration,” Naresh said.

The actor, whose Bangaru Bullodu tanked at the box office previous week, mentioned that his current priority is to move away from stereotyped comedy films and to prove his versatility as an actor. “Nenu (remake of Kaadhal Kondein) was one film that I hold close to my heart. It was this film that made Krish cast me in Gamyam. Gamyam had proved that I could a lot beyond comedy. Recently, I did Maharshi to change gears. Naandhi (releasing on February 19) is another step in the direction,” he adds.