Jr NTR says South industry is ‘chaotic’, recalls shooting War 2 ‘instinctively’

Telugu superstar Jr NTR talked about the difference in ways Bollywood and the South Indian film industry work. He was speaking during a promotional interaction with Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar when he recalled the way he shot films down South, and how he shot for War 2, a Hindi film, with director Ayan Mukerji and producer Aditya Chopra.
The popular Pan-India star underscored the importance of using his ‘instincts’ while acting on the camera. He said he believes in showing “beyond than what was written” in a script. Jr NTR mentioned that most South movies are made in ‘chaos’ because everyone is trying to put in their 100 per cent and not sticking to just following the plan.
The actor explained, “Too much of prep doesn’t give you the chance to explore yourself. South Indian films (sets) have always been chaotically organised. Like, if the prints have to come tomorrow, the team will still ask for one extra hour because they want to make some changes in the edit. The clock is ticking, the prints have to be delivered, but you are still working on the film.”
He revealed that on the sets of South films, the team often believes in living in the moment. He added, “You are shooting for a crazy sequence tomorrow, but everybody is so chill, we are not prepping at all. We know what needs to be done. I think it is the chaos which brings a great amount of organisation and somewhere that makes us more instinctive as artistes.”
The RRR actor went on to recall his on-set experience while shooting War 2. The YRF action film features him opposite Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. He remembered an incident when he wanted to go beyond what was planned by Ayan, and tried to make him have faith in his style of working.
“This was the experience I had with Hindi cinema also. When I was shooting for War 2, Ayan did not know what was going to come. Because he was trying to bring it out from me, that’s how this was going to come out,” he said.
He mentioned Aditya intervening during the shoot. “I told him, ‘Ayan I am very instinctive, kuch na kuch aa jayega (something will come)’. Now, he is not used to doing this at all, he loves prep, and I am completely the opposite. And then Adi Sir was there in between, who said, ‘It’s ok, it’s ok, I get it’,” he explained.
Jr NTR is busy with the release of Devara: Part One. The film is slated to hit the screens on September 27. Meanwhile, War 2 is a big film from YRF’s spy-universe and will be released in August 2025.