Image instagrammed by Naga Chaitanya's fan page. (Courtesy: NagaChaitanya)
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya's thriller series Dhootha, which marks his web series debut, is impressing fans and critics alike. Interestingly, Naga Chaitanya, who often finds himself being the topic of several media reports is playing a journalist in Dhootha. In particular, the actor regularly made it to news headlines following his split with ex-wife, actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. On the sidelines of his OTT debut and his role in the show, Naga Chaitanya in a conversation with The Indian Express said that constant media speculations don't bother him “beyond a point.” He said, “I really don't bother about it beyond a point. People close to me will know the truth. Apart from that, I want to be known for my work as an actor more than what's happening in my personal life. So I try to focus more on my craft, and let the movies do the talking. At the end of the day, if my movies are great and entertain the audience, that's what I want them to remember me for.”
Naga Chaitanya also shared why he chose to go ahead with a web series format. Naga Chaitanya explained that while he had a gleaming acting career in the Telugu film industry, it was during the pandemic that he watched a lot of content on OTT. He also said that as an actor he wanted to explore the episodic format, “to live and breathe the character.” Detailing what attracted him towards OTT, Naga Chaitanya said, “On OTT, you can experiment with genres and scripts. There are certain things you can't do on the big screen because people come to the theatres with certain kinds of expectations.”
He further said: “If you want to do big canvas commercial films, there are expectations because there are efforts people put in to come to the theatre, and pay money. But with OTT, it is different. The attitude and mindset are different. So as an actor, I really wanted to explore and get the exposure, as people from all over the world can watch.”
Earlier in a conversation with journalist Prema Malini on her YouTube channel, Naga Chaitanya slammed media reports revolving around his divorce. The actor said, “What happened in my personal life was very unfortunate, with my marriage. Immense respect I have for that phase of my life. However, the way the media has portrayed the issue – by speculating and spreading rumours of varied kinds – the respect is being diminished in the public eye, which has hurt me a lot.”
After getting married in 2017, Naga Chaitanya Akkineni and Samantha announced their separation through a social media post in 2021.
Meanwhile, Naga Chaitanya has also made headlines for dating rumours with Made In Heaven star Sobhita Dhulipala. The rumours started doing the rounds last year after several images of the two stars dining together surfaced on the internet.
Coming back to Dhootha, the supernatural suspense-thriller is an eight-episode series. Apart from Naga Chaitanya, it features Parvathy Thiruvothu, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Prachi Desai. The series is streaming in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam on Prime Video starting December 1.