‘RRR’ Actor Ram Charan On His Camaraderie With Jr NTR: The So-Called Rivalry Was Never An Issue

Ram Charan and JR NTR took everyone by surprise with their camaraderie in SS Rajamouli’s film ‘RRR’. In the film, they start off as friends but soon turn enemies only to have a reunion in the end. In real life too, the actors have known each other for a long time but they come from rival families of actors. 

In a recent interview, Ram Charan talked about his equation with NTR and wondered whether Rajamouli really wanted a sense of real-life rivalry for the on-screen version too. 

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ram Charan said, “Now that I’m thinking about it, yeah. Probably. Why not? I don’t think there’s any reason not to think that, but Mr. Rajamouli also wanted to share our very real bond off-screen during the scenes where we’re not rivals. I always had some apprehension that there would be competition about who’s going to do better and everything, but the professional rivalry never came into the picture between us.”

He added, “We were so comfortable, and our well-written stories and characters made us feel comfortable in our own spaces. So it wasn’t about one-upping each other; it was about the story and Mr. Rajamouli’s vision. And if not for Rajamouli, I don’t think we would’ve been as comfortable doing this film. He really knows how to balance every aspect, not only from a filmmaking perspective, but also the expectations of fans. So, the so-called rivalry was never an issue."

JR NTR belongs to the family of actors with names such as Nandamuri Harikrishna and NT Rama Rao. Ram Charan, on the other hand, is the son of megastar Chiranjeevi and actor Pawan Kalyan is his uncle.

Meanwhile, Rajamouli’s period action blockbuster ‘RRR’, for his hit track ‘Naatu Naatu’, bagged an Oscar nomination in the Best Original song category.