Nag Ashwin has been teasing fans about a ‘killer update’ from #Prabhas21 since the last few and it’s finally here!
The team of the Prabhas and Deepika Padukone starrer has managed to pull off a major casting coup by roping in none other than Amitabh Bachchan to play a key role in the film. When announcing Deepika’s casting, Nag Ashwin had called her a ‘queen befitting the king’. Now, seemingly on cloud-nine about having Senior Bachchan on-board, Nag Ashwin said, “I feel lucky and blessed that Bachchan sir has given his nod to our film among the many choices he has. What’s exciting is that he will not just be seen in a supporting role, he will have a full-fledged role that will do justice to the legend that he is. In fact, his character is so important in the film, our working titled was his character’s name!” Prabhas also called it a dream-come-true to share screen-space with the legend. He wrote on social media, “Finally, a dream coming true…Sharing screen space with the legendary @amitabhbachchan Sir! #NamaskaramBigB.” (sic)
#NamaskaramBigB Not a guest role or a special appearance…but a full length role so important, tht his characters name was the working title of an early draft…thank you @SrBachchan sir for the privilege…we will make it worthy of your time 🙏 #Prabhas #DeepikaPadukone https://t.co/tdX9ghABku
— Nag Ashwin (@nagashwin7) October 9, 2020
Producer Aswini Dutt also reminisced of the time when the late NTR was such a great admirer of Big B that he would even remake some of his films in Telugu. He said, “The late NTR remains someone close to our heart as this production house’s cinematic journey began with him and is named after him. He was such an admirer of Bachchan garu that he acted in the Telugu remakes of his super-hit Bollywood films. I remember me and NTR even watching the landmark Sholay at Ramakrishna Theatre. So to have cinema’s greatest icon on-board is truly a satisfying moment.”
While Amitabh Bachchan was previously seen in a cameo in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, this will mean his fill-fledged debut in Telugu cinema. Deepika Padukone has previously shared screen-space with Big B in the hit film Piku but this will be Prabhas’ first time with the icon. The yet-to-be-named #Prabhas21 is a mega-budget and multi-lingual production that Nag Ashwin once called not just a pan-India but pan-world film. Recently, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao of Aditya 369 fame was also brought on-board as a script consultant. Further details are awaited. The film is slated for a worldwide release in 2022 in multiple languages. Further details are awaited.