Custody starring Naga Chaitanya, is all set to arrive in theatres tomorrow. The film, directed by Venkat Prabhu, has Arvind Swami as the antagonist. Krithi Shetty played the female lead, while Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the tunes. Srinivasaa Chitturi produced the film, which also has Priyamani, Sarath Kumar, Sampath Raj, Premji, Vennela Kishore, and Premi Vishwanath in key roles. Ahead of the release, we had a brief interaction with Naga Chaitanya, and here is the transcript.
What were the kind of discussions you had with your fight masters?
I had a lot of discussions. I did a lot of rehearsals. We tried to keep the action part in Custody as real as possible. I like films with high-speed shots, people flying in the air, and cars blowing up. If I do that in Custody, it would look silly.
What is that you liked the most about Custody?
Me playing a constable. A Police constable is an underdog kind of character. There is so much potential for the rise. I really enjoyed the way Venkat Prabhu designed my character arc. By the end, the audience will get the feel of a larger-than-life character.
You said you are playing an underdog. How will it suit your image?
It has got nothing to do with the image. You can see his growth in the second half. The audience will enjoy the organic rise of my character very well. We dealt with the character in a natural manner.
How was your first-time experience dubbing in Tamil?
It was very challenging. Generally, I take one week to ten days for the Telugu dubbing. But it took me one month to complete the Tamil dubbing. My director insisted me strongly to dub in Tamil. If an actor dubs by himself/herself, the performance would also reach the audience.
How is your bonding with Custody’s producer?
Srinivasaa Garu is a happy soul. He always behaves like a friend and a family member. There will always be an open discussion between us. I like such producers. He liked the script and produced the film passionately.
At what stage do the films fail?
I think failure occurs in the script phase itself. Generally, people might go wrong in their judgments in the script stage. If the script is good, then it must be the execution that will impact the film’s output. There is no chance for failure in other stages.
Why are you interested in playing underdog characters?
By the end of Custody, it will be a larger-than-life character. I personally like characters that are close to reality. If you observe Love Story, it is a rooted character with common problems. I like to create awareness about such common issues.