Sriram Raghavan says Agastya Nanda reminds him of young Amitabh Bachchan
Agastya Nanda is all set to share the screen with legendary actor Dharmendra.
The National Award-winning film Sriram Raghavan is all praise for young star Agastya Nanda. Raghavan is currently earning a lot of rave reviews for his recently released drama Merry Christmas, starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. After this mystery thriller, Raghavan will shift his focus to his next project, Ikkis, which stars Agastya Nanda in the lead.
Agastya, who is the grandson of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, made his acting debut with Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s The Archies.
Talking about casting Agastya in his next movie, the Badlapur director recalled his first meeting with Agastya and how he reminded the director of young Amitabh Bachchan from his films like Saat Hindustani and Anand.
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In an interview with Film Companion, Raghavan went on to praise Agastya's performance in The Archies. He said, ''He’s a guy who is refreshingly normal and there’s no bells and whistles. I have seen his The Archies and I loved the film, I loved his character and many other characters in the film. So I know he knows the process of the film and now I am looking at diving with him into more subjects.''
The upcoming movie is based on the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.
More information about the film has been kept under wraps. The film starring Dharmendra will go on floors this year.
Recalling his first meeting with Raghavan, Agastya said that it was, ''really crazy experience''.
''I remember when… Before I started The Archies I went around introducing myself to a lot of people because I don’t have social media, people don’t know what I look like really. So, I remember going to Dinoo (filmmaker Dinesh Vijan) sir’s office and asked him if he had any work and he said that he’ll keep in touch. I was not expecting anything,'' Agastya said.
Adding further, he said: “Two days later I got a call from him and he asked me to come to his office. I was very excited and asked him what it is for and he said, ‘I can’t tell you’, I asked who is it with? And he said, ‘I can’t tell you’. When I arrived, I was sitting at the office really nervous because it was just me fresh into this industry. I was sitting alone in the conference hall… 20-30 minutes pass and then Sriram Raghavan walks in. Then I figured out what the story was and it was with him.''
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Meanwhile, Sriram Raghavan's Merry Christmas has gotten a great response from the audience. Earning rave reviews from critics, the movie had a decent start at the box office.
Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh wrote, ''#MerryChristmas opens similar to #SriramRaghavan’s last release #AndhaDhun [₹ 2.70 cr]… Dependent on word of mouth to take it forward, #MerryChristmas witnessed substantial growth towards evening shows on Day 1… Fri ₹ 2.30 cr. #India biz. Note: #Hindi version.''
