Nagabandham marks actor Virat Karrna's sophomore film, and yet, the project is billed as a Rs 100 crore film. “I never expected that I would get a film of this scale so soon," says the actor, adding, "It wasn't marked as such a huge project initially, but as things fell in place, the budget went beyond Rs 100 crore."
While Virat received plaudits for his debut film, Pedha Kapu, the film didn't perform well commercially. “When my debut film did not work at the box office, initially I felt sad, but I learnt a lesson. Success and failures are not in our hands. The only thing I can do is work hard, and for Nagabandham, I worked twice as hard as in my debut film,” says Virat.
For Nagabandham, the biggest challenge for Virat was not just acting but his complete physical transformation. “When Abhishek Nama garu narrated the story and explained the roles of Naga Sadhu, I got goosebumps. I decided I had to do this at all costs. I put my blood and sweat into this role, and the rest is in God’s hands,” says Virat, adding that Nagabandham was physically demanding. “Most of the shootings happened during the night. I had to act barefoot with blood all over my body. Imagine shooting in winters with the cold wind, and blood being poured on my body, becoming cold. Some sequences were shot nearly 200 feet above the ground, which was extremely challenging.”
Recalling how the intense shoot affected his health several times, Virat says, “There was a time when I was shooting at such a height, and I started shivering. I asked Kicha master, the action director, to bring me down. Continuous night shoots, body transformation and weather conditions affected me, and I even had to go to the hospital, but I recovered quickly.”
The actor also spoke about the extensive makeup involved for the role. “It takes five to six hours to apply makeup for the Naga Sadhu look. After that, I had to perform action sequences with heavy makeup. I didn’t use a body double for the action scenes," says the actor, revealing that he completed most of the shoot despite suffering from fever. "I wanted to prove myself and get recognised. For that, I am ready to do any hard work, no matter how difficult it is.”
For the Rudra character, Virat gained nearly 20 kilos as the director wanted him in a bulky avatar. “There were many workshops, gym sessions, exercises and strict food plans that I followed for this film,” says Virat.
Since Nagabandham has a period setting and mythological backdrop, Virat underwent special training in dialogue delivery and body language. “They appointed Bhagyashri, a teacher, who conducted workshops on dialogue modulation, acting, looks and body language for the Naga Sadhu role. She helped me a lot,” says the young actor, sharing that he felt a strong spiritual connection with the character. “Every day, I used to wake up around 3.30 am, visit a Shiva temple, chant devotional mantras, perform puja and listen to devotional songs. I started feeling the divine connection while shooting, and that aura can be seen in Sivudu’s (Naga Sadhu) role."
Virat expressed his gratitude to the producers for investing such a huge budget on a relatively new actor. “They come from a software background but have a passion for cinema. They didn’t invest Rs 100 crore blindly. They believed in the content, and hats off to them for their confidence,” says the actor, adding that he did feel the burden of the budget initially. "It was director Abhishek Nama's support that helped me through it. “He told me not to think about the pressure and asked me to focus only on my work. I followed his advice."
Talking about his inspiration, Virat says Chiranjeevi is the reason behind his decision to become an actor. “I grew up watching Chiranjeevi sir’s films and dancing to his songs. During marriages and functions, his songs used to play, and that’s when I decided to pursue acting,” says Virat, who went on to reveal his future plans. “From now onwards, I want to do two films a year. I have a few projects lined up and will announce them after this film’s release. One is a superhero action film, and another project is also ready,” he signs off.
