Janatha Garage has been a labour of love: NTR

Not many would think the prospect of chatting up Nithya Menen could get NTR antsy. The Tollywood superstar is admittedly a ���big fan��� of the actress. And on the first day of shoot of

Janatha Garage

, he couldn���t help confess his adulation for her. ���I think Nithya is everything that an actress should be. And I wanted to tell her that I am a great fan of her acting,��� he confesses. Here���s where it gets interesting. ���Nithya is a very soft person in reality but she seems like a toughie on the outside. So I hesitated for a good 15 minutes or so before I finally told her that I���m a fan,��� he recalls, smiling. NTR adds, chuckling about his fan boy moment, ���I guess it sure did help break the ice. It was a pleasure acting with her.��� Playing a nature lover, Anand, ���who is much like nature itself���, the actor didn���t leave anything to chance though. ���It���s a very intense character. Anand adores Mother Nature and believes protecting the planet is everyone���s responsibility. But he would rather let his actions speak for his beliefs and wants to inspire people with his deeds,��� says NTR talking about the character in Janatha Garage, produced by Naveen Yerneni,

Ravi Shankar Yalamanchili

and Mohan Cherukuri under Mythri Movie Makers, which releases today.

The actor ensured that the styling too was eco-friendly. ���We ditched leather altogether. Even the shoes I wore in the film were made of fabric,��� explains the actor, who decided to sport clothes picked off the street for the role.

���Anand isn���t one of those guys who looks perfect all the time. He is very instinctive by nature and would just pick anything and wear it. So much so, my hair is messy, the shirts and trousers are never actually synchronised. We picked up shirts from the roadside and some of them cost just around 50 bucks. Having my stylist around was a big help,��� shares the actor, who seems to share a lot in common with the character.
���Anand���s emotional make up is a lot like mine actually. In fact, acting was more about being myself. It wasn���t easy to just be myself initially though. It took me a while to get the hang of emoting like how I would in real life,��� he says, smiling.

The most intimidating part of shooting for the film was acting with Mohanlal garu. ���I should admit I was a little intimidated about the prospect of acting with Mohanlal garu. He isn���t just a complete actor, he���s a complete human being,��� he says.

Does he have any pre-release jitters? ���Yes. Plenty. I won���t lie, I am not relaxed. I just can���t explain exactly what I am going through right now. There���s excitement, nervousness among a host of emotions. Janatha Garage has been a labour of love and I���m hopeful that the audience will connect with the film the way I did,��� he says signing off.