Character in ‘Oopiri’ took toll on me: Nagarjuna

Chennai, Feb 21 (IANS) Actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, who plays a quadriplegic bound to a wheelchair in upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual "Oopiri", says the role took a heavy toll on him as it required him to sit in one place and emote.

"An assistant director was appointed just to check if I was moving my hands or legs even slightly while on the wheelchair. If I did, they'd re-shoot the scene again, as many times as it required. It was extremely challenging, because at times my legs would go numb," Nagarjuna told IANS.

A remake of French drama "The Intouchables", the film also stars actors Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia.

"For the emotional scenes, I told the crew to tie my hands and legs so that they will not move at any cost," he said, adding that the film high on comedy and won't reveal why he's bound to a wheelchair.

"Unlike the original, this is high on comedy drama. It has been tailor-made to suit the sensibilities of Telugu and Tamil audiences," he added.

In the film, Karthi plays Nagarjuna's personal caretaker, and the "King" actor said their relationship has been portrayed beautifully.

Directed by Vamsi Paidipally, the film is slated for worldwide release on March 5.

Nagarjuna also revealed that he will next team up with veteran filmmaker K. Raghavendra Rao for a Telugu devotional film.

"I play Baba Hathiram, a disciple of Lord Venkateswara Balaji in the film. Regular shooting stars from April," he said, hinting that there will also be a sequel to his recent blockbuster "Soggade Chinni Nayana".

"I'm not sure when the sequel will happen but we've already registered the title aBangarraju'," he said.