Hyderabad :
Ninety-year-old Akkineni Nageshwara Rao who knew he had very little time to live battling with cancer, dubbed from his bed for the last film he acted in. The film ‘Manam’ starring his son Nagarjuna and grandson Naga Chaitanya is scheduled for release on March 31.
The Dada Saheb Phalke award winner had passed away on January 22. Except for a song that he was to have shot for, Nagarjuna made sure he completed his role. As if he had a premonition about his death, he called for the dubbing equipment to his bedside and dubbed his voice for the movie.
“Fifteen days after surgery he was at home in bed when he said,
“Bring all the dubbing equipment and do my dubbing for ‘Manam’ before I get worse, or you will get a mimicry artiste to do my dubbing,” he told his son Nagarjuna 15 days after he had a surgery and was in bed. “He made sure he completed the film,” Nagarjuna said.
Opening up about his father’s death, Nagarjuna said on his 90 thbirthday in September, ANR had call all his friends and family from India and abroad. He met all the 2,000 people.
“He made an hour-long speech, which we fortunately recorded. It’s the only biographical life-sketch we have of him. We now intend to make it public,” Nagarjuna said.
Nagarjuna said as an actor ANR had enjoyed acting until the 1970s and 80s. “Then just when I came in as a leading man, Indian cinema become mongrelized, Westernized and corrupted. My father didn’t like it at all,” Nagarjuna recalled. “Why does our cinema need to ape the West? Our culture and heritage are so rich. Why do you need to change that?” he would ask.
Nagarjuna argued back saying that they had to give the audience what they wanted but ANR said: “Look at the Chinese, Koreans. Their cinema preserves their language and culture. They’re global leaders.”
When Nagarjuna recently wanted to send a film he made to international film festivals after cutting the songs, ANR was aghast. “Why are you cutting out your culture?” he asked. Seeing reason in what his father said, Nagarjuna retained the songs.
Nagarjuna made one confession about what his father thought of his acting. “In his later years he continued to watch all the films. He would comment only on the acting as acting was his first love. He saw no logic in my action scenes. Lately he had started approving of my performances. He liked my performance in Sri Ramadasu,” he said.
When ANR was diagnosed with cancer, he gave the family the strength and courage to face up to the impending tragedy.
“He fought the disease as long as he could. He was on the sets of our family film Manam when he collapsed. When they opened him up he was in the 5th stage of cancer. Until then he was in the pink of health,” Nagarjuna said.
The film ‘Manam’ spans a period from 1920 to 2013 in which Nagarjuna plays a 90-year old. Except an incomplete song, ANR completed all the part of his shooting.
Taking about the end days of ANR, Nagarjuna said: “When he knew he was losing the battle with the disease he closed his eyes and surrendered to death. He developed a pain at the end. We took him to the hospital and for the first time he had to be given painkillers. The doctor warned us that it was the beginning of the end.”
The family was informed that he had two more months to live and his condition would worsen. ANR preferred to go home.
“That night (January 21) he called all of us to gather around him. At around 9.30 pm he asked all of us to go home. That night he passed away,” Nagarjuna recalled.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Nagarjuna / by Ch. Sushil Rao, TNN / January 29th, 2014