Nagarjuna RECALLS Shocking Past When His Father ANR Tried To Commit Suicide

Nagarjuna recently opened up about his drastic past at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The actor said that once his father tried to kill himself because people around him used to mock and criticise him for his ‘feminine’ mannerisms. He also shared that his father ANR used to play women’s roles on stage as there were no actresses at that point of time. Nagarjuna further shared that his father was dejected and he tried to commit suicide at Marina beach. 

Nagarjuna said, “In those days women were not allowed to be an actor or act on stage. So, he started playing women’s roles. He first became a heroine on stage. As fate took its turn, he was at a railway station when famous producer Ghantasala Balaramayya, who was sitting in the train, saw him walking and said ‘nice eyes, nice nose’. Would you like to act? Rest, as they say, is history.” 

He continued, “I distinctly remember him swaying his hips. He thought that was acting because he had done this on stage. People made fun of him and that really dejected him. He went to Marina Beach where he said he wanted to kill himself because there was so much laughter (mockery) and all of that. He told me he went waist deep into the seawater and then something in him told him (to not do it) and he corrected himself.” 

“Somebody told him your voice becomes rougher if you smoke cigars. He didn’t smoke earlier. He also used to go to the beach early in the morning and scream at the ocean for 5-10 minutes to make his voice more hoarse.” 

Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) made his acting debut with the 1944 movie Sri Seeta Rama Jananam. He also worked in movies like Mayabazar, Devadasu, Gundamma Katha, Mooga Manasulu, Prema Nagar, Abhimanam and Aathma Balam to name a few.