Happy Birthday Naga Chaitanya: Five best films that unleashed the actor in him

Happy Birthday Naga Chaitanya: Nagarjuna’s son has come a long way from his boy-next-door image, thanks to films like Saahasam Swasaga Sagipo and Majili. On his birthday, a look at some of his best works.

Actor Naga Chaitanya, who turns 33 on Saturday, has proved himself as the heartthrob of Telugu cinema with his good looks and a few romantic films but we take a look at five such films that unleashed the actor in him. From Ye Maaya Chesave to Majili, we take a look at films that presented Chaitanya in a new light and extracted the best out of him.

Naga Chaitanya comes from a prominent film family of Telugu filmdom - he is the son of Nagarjuna and grandson of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR. (Instagram)

Ye Maaya Chesave

Ye Maaya Chesave was the first time Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Akkineni acted together.

Ye Maaya Chesave, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, revolves around the life of Karthik Naidu. This is the story of Karthik who meets Jessie for the first time and falls head over heels. As much as you can debate it’s just another love story, you can’t deny the fact that it’s one of the most mature love stories to come out of Telugu cinema. The film gave Naga Chaitanya an opportunity to break free from his boy-next-door image and play a more sophisticated character.

Saahasam Swasaga Sagipo

This film marked the second time Gautham Menon and Chaitanya worked together.

In his second collaboration with Gautham Menon, Naga Chaitanya surprised his fans by playing a much serious character. Another urban romantic drama, the film saw Chaitanya play a character with a dark side that was waiting to be unleashed, and nobody else could’ve handled the character as maturely as Gautham Menon. While many called Saahasam Swasaga Sagipo as a slightly more serious version of Ye Maaya Chesave, the film set itself apart with its racy presentation.

Manam

Manam is a family drama which saw three generations of Akkineni family working together.

Manam saw Chaitanya play a very laid-back character with no big dreams in life. The film, which also featured Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Nagarjuna, gave Chaitanya an opportunity to explore his comic side and it worked wonders on screen. For someone who has built his career by playing the quintessential lover boy, Manam saw Chaitanya have fun on screen and it was refreshing to see that he wasn’t trying hard to impress. While the film impressed audiences and critics alike with its interesting screenplay and story, it also extracted the best out of Chaitanya in an out-and-out comic avatar.

Premam

Premam is a Telugu remake of hit Malayalam film of the same name.

In Premam, Naga Chaitanya played a character whose life gets divided in three stages, each centering on a different girl. A remake of eponymous Malayalam film, Premam saw Chaitanya play a lover boy from a very different perspective. The school and college portion may have played to the gallery but Chaitanya proved his range an actor with the third stage of his life.

Majili

Majili starred Chaitanya and Samantha again.

Majili may have given Samantha her career-best role yet but the film also tapped the hidden potential of Naga Chaitanya as a performer. As the brooding protagonist with a heartbreaking past, this was the story of a man being won over by his wife. Both Samantha and Chaitanya complemented each other so well in roles we haven’t seen them essaying up until then. The film featured Chaitanya in the role of a failed cricketer trying to make sense of his life while trying to forget his first love.

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