Nagarjuna wants to play safe

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He may have agreed to play Sai Baba and Dawood Ibrahim, but Nagarjuna has reportedly refused to portray a former Indian president on screen. Sources reveal the star was asked to play Fakruddin Ali Ahmed (the President from 1974 to 1977) in an upcoming Hindi-English film on the life of the late Sanjay Gandhi.

Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, of Lahore fame, apparently wanted Nag for the character but the actor refused it because he didn’t want to be associated with a “controversial film” — despite its `80-crore mega budget and Warner Bros. funding.
“It’s true that I approached Nagarjuna and narrated the story to him. But it’s for a different international film, not to play any big role in Sanjay Gandhi project. I am a great fan of Nag and Mahesh Babu and also adore T-town stars. I would love to dish out potboilers,” says director Chauhan, who is busy wrapping up his political thriller Anahaat revolving around India-Pak relations. The director also expresses a fascination towards Sanjay Gandhi and believes he was ‘great visionary’. He apparently also sought the support of Maneka Gandhi for the project, which is set to go on floor in the middle of 2013. Chauhan has roped in Nafisa Ali to play Indira Gandhi and Malayalam actor Mohanlal for another political role, but after the Nag fiasco, is yet to find an actor to essay Sanjay Gandhi.
“We are still fine tuning the script and haven’t taken a call on casting. I had worked with Nafisa Ali in Lahore and we share a good rapport, but we haven’t finalised the actors for Sanjay and other characters since the film will take some time to go on floors,” he adds.
“It’s also too early to talk about the film’s plot and the team of writers and I are currently working to explain the controversies surrounding Sanjay Gandhi’s life,” adds Chauhan.