September 5 marks 16 years in cinema for Naga Chaitanya, whose debut film Josh released in 2009. During a recent interview, the actor spoke about living upto his family’s legacy, his filmmaking aims going forward, and more.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Naga Chaitanya said, “Coming from a family lineage and having an unconditional fan base that my grandfather and father created…my biggest aim back then was not to disappoint them. To live up to my family’s legacy, however, will take a lot of time. There’s still a long way to go in what more I should achieve and the roles I have to play. I’m still very hungry as an actor and a person. It’s healthy for me because it keeps me going.”

The actor also spoke about why his previous release Thandel was particularly satisfying. “It was special in a way because I played a real-life hero. I had also never done a film based on real-life instances. It was a very inspiring journey for me, and a lot of effort was put into it. It became my highest-grossing film eventually,” he noted. 

Talking about his upcoming film NC24, Naga Chaitanya added, “It revolves around predictions that are discovered from many years back that lead my character on a journey. The film, also looped into our mythology, is a proper spectacle film.”

In terms of his future plans as an actor, Naga Chaitanya shared the ambition to do films that are more rooted in Indian culture, adding, “I’m looking for more of such rooted stories, rather than something more staged or stylised. Today, when I listen to a script, I have started to pick and learn what the audience might like. I have learnt that at the end of the day, there’s no formula for success and it works only when the audience connects to a film’s soul.”