Sumanth, who reprised the role of his grandfather ANR in Balakrishna’s NTR biopic, shared his thoughts on the film, his feelings on playing the role of his grandfather and whether biopic on ANR will ever happen on screen.
He said, “The biopic will not show anything I heard or knew about my grandfather. It will have more than that and so I myself felt new when I heard the script. I did not do any homework for the role but happened to watch one of my grandfather's interview and that too for just five minutes. I did not try to imitate grandfather's voice.
I never felt the pressure as to how fans would accept me in the role of my grandfather. Everyone liked the first look and this gave confidence to entire unit. The way Krish showed the character on screen is very good. I like Krish a lot and he narrated grandfather's role in an elaborate manner. I did the role with utmost confidence on Krish. I wouldn't have dared to do the role but for Krish and Balakrishna.
My role has 5-6 getups. I felt difficulty in the getup of 60yrs old. However I overcame with some precautions in the makeup. After Balakrishna getup, I liked Rana's getup. My first shot was with Rana and watching Rana as Chandra Babu I was surprised and remarked, 'Are you Rana.'
I never saw a person like Balakrishna. He is very special anywhere. He used to tell grandfather's dialogues extempore. His knowledge on films is immense.
ANR biopic is in the hands of my uncle Nagarjuna. He is the head of the family and whatever decision he takes, family will support. Till now we did not discuss about ANR biopic.”