Devara, RRR, Aravinda Sametha — What Keeps Jr NTR Going?

JR NTR'S upcoming film Devara is the talk of the town these days. Post the release of SS Rajamouli’s RRR, in which the actor played Komaram Bheem, expectations are enormous for Devara. Directed by Koratala Siva, Devara is NTR’s first film as a solo lead in six years, and the film features him in dual roles as both a father and his son — Devara and Vara. The two-part film, set in the 1980s in a remote coastal village, also stars Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in primary roles.

Talking about the film, in a recent interview with The Hindu, NTR said, “In mainstream commercial films, the protagonist comes to the aid of people who don’t have confidence, gives them that and takes them forward. But here, it’s the opposite; when people have a lot of confidence, somebody comes from the outside and says ‘No, we need to have a little bit of fear’. It is a very beautifully-articulated heroism.”

The film’s trailer has dropped enough hints about ‘fear’ and ‘courage’ being the story's central theme and how one man instils that fear in the hearts of his enemies. This dichotomy, of fear and hope, success and failure, has been a consistent theme throughout Jr NTR’s career. In an interview back in 2017, Jr NTR once remarked, “For the longest time, I didn’t know what people expected from me. Nothing I did was working. It was only when I realised that everyone expects me to make a genuine effort that things began to change slowly. Now, I do films for my own satisfaction.” Along the way, he was also told by his close friends to do films that challenge him. And ever since, each time he has laid bare his emotions in the truest sense, the reaction from the audience has been deeply rewarding. There’s been a distinct change in his approach to roles he has taken up from Temper (2015) onwards and in the past few years, all his films have tried to reimagine what the actor can do.

In Puri Jagannadh’s Temper, Jr NTR essayed the role of a corrupt cop, who’s probably more selfish and evil than the villain himself in the story; however, a dramatic turn of events moves him so much that he avenges a heinous crime. It was a major transformation for the actor, who hadn’t played a character as egoistic and angry as Inspector Daya in a long time. And then, he followed it up with Sukumar’s Nannaku Prematho, an action thriller, where Jr NTR cons a rich businessman to confess his crimes. The film presented him as a stylish and intelligent protagonist who plays mind games with his arch-nemesis.

Another memorable film in his filmography is Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, a 2018 film directed by Trivikram Srinivas. After an emotionally charged action sequence in the first few minutes of the film, his grandmother convinces him to let go of his anger and need for vengeance. What follows next is an exploration of violence and its aftermath, and the protagonist himself goes through a sea of emotions to keep his anger under control. It’s quite a detour from the expectations that his films have set over the years, where it’s a matter of time before the protagonist turns into a messiah by vanquishing all evil.

Right from the initial days of his career, Jr NTR’s onscreen persona and image has been modelled like a rage machine. The ‘R’ in his name might very well stand for ‘Rage’. He was barely 20 years old when one of his most popular films Simhadri (2003) released in theatres, and it catapulted him into superstardom instantly. Whether it’s on the ghats of Godavari river when ACP Namboothri (played by Sharad Saxena) recognises NTR as Singamalai, or NTR chasing down a gang of goons in the streets of Trivandrum which culminates in a bloodbath quite literally, the actor seemed like a man possessed by rage which could set the screens on fire.

Over the years, it was almost always about how Jr NTR would channel his rage into doing something meaningful in his films. Take SS Rajamouli’s RRR for instance. There’s a song in the second half of the film, 'Komaram Bheemudo', where Jr NTR, playing Bheem, is being brutally whipped and tortured by his best friend, Ram, played by Ram Charan. His sense of betrayal and anguish pours through the screen in the form of a song, which moves everyone around him, both on and off screen, into tears and rebellion. It’s one of the most memorable segments in Jr NTR’s career and just one of the many instances where one can’t help but be in awe of his acting prowess.

For nearly 24 years, NTR has been riding a tiger—quite metaphorically. It’s a strange dance of expectations, from the filmmaker that NTR is going to do something different, from his fans who want to see him in a new light, and the actor himself, who has come to terms with his failures in the past and keeps asking himself, “What else do I need to do to get better?” That he’s a gifted actor and a dancer was evident from an early age. By the time he was 21, he was one of the most popular actors in Telugu cinema and it looked like there was no stopping him. But then, life happened and nearly a decade later, in his own words, “he looked himself in the mirror and acknowledged the battle scars”, and got back to work with a renewed sense of purpose. Perhaps, the actor’s inherent ability to control the rhythm of what he does on screen, finding meaning in what the character does, and hitting the right notes just kept getting better and better with time.

The trajectory of an actor’s career is akin to that of an athlete running a marathon. After a point, it’s probably not even about winning anymore, but outdoing themselves. The adulation of the crowd cheering for them and being part of a monumental feat only gives it more meaning. That’s the joy of watching films too. Some stories move you to tears, some give you unbridled joy, and some, quite appropriately, drain you out. But there’s a perfect sweet spot — when one’s expectations and admiration for an actor or a director matches, or even surpasses, what they are watching on screen — which turns into a memory meant to be cherished for a long time.

With Ayan Mukerji’s War 2, a Prashanth Neel film in the pipeline, it feels like an exciting phase in Jr NTR’s career, where he’s exploring new territories and stories that consistently keep challenging him as an actor. For now, considering the buzz surrounding Devara, one would only hope that the film turns into a memory that the audience will cherish. And this time, Jr NTR is not just riding a tiger, but also riding a shark.