Actor Ram Charan has said that casting him with his father, veteran star Chiranjeevi, in the upcoming Telugu film Acharya (2022) was a creative call that director Koratala Siva took.
He added that his sharing screen space with his father has meant a lot to his mother.
Though Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan have been seen together in the Telugu film Bruce Lee: The Fighter (2015), this is the first time they are playing full-length roles in the same film.
In an interview with the entertainment website Bollywoodlife.com, Ram Charan opened up on working with his father in Acharya. He clarified that he did not get to act in Acharya because he is a co-producer.
“I mean, it was not my decision," the actor said. "Yes, I'm a part producer in that, but, initially, we had many choices... like someone from outside the family, of course. However, our director, Koratala Siva sir, had decided somehow, one day, to call me and say, 'I know you are working on RRR, I know we cannot ask Rajamouli sir for time out from RRR for our film, but I'm not able to think beyond you in terms of the script requirement'.
“[It was] not like we both [Chiranjeevi and he] decided... come on, let's make a movie together. I think the director and the script demanded it and Rajamouli sir gave the time off the sets [of RRR] for my film [Acharya] and it meant a lot. More than for me, it meant a lot for my mother, the fans and the script that I came into the project.”
Acharya, as per reports, is about a middle-aged Naxalite-turned-social reformer who launches a fight against the endowments department over misappropriation and embezzlement of temple funds and donations.