Veteran director/actor Dasari Narayanarao celebrated his 60^th birthday on 4^th May, at his residence among a horde of stars and well wishers from the industry. A press meet was held following the celebrations which included a generous sized cake.

“In 1975 I celebrated my birthday, for the first time in my life, on the insistence of my producers” birthday boy Dasari said “since then every year these celebrations are held at my residence. Today is my Sashtipoorti (60^th birthday). I never had any goals in my life. I just took up whatever opportunities came my way. I started of as a stage actor when I was 10 years old and went on to serve the Telugu film industry, for the past 40 years, as a director, actor and technician”.

In a brief interview here is what the Tollywood veteran had to say to our questions:

Q: You have not directed any films in the recent past. Have you retired from direction?

A: No. I do want to direct films but because of my minister ship with the central government I am not able to cater the time.

Q: You said that you never planned anything. What about your turn into politics?

A: My entry into politics was not pre planned. Sonia Gandhi offered me a Rajyasabha MP seat. And I agreed as I was always a great supporter of the Congress party.

Q: What do you think of the new generation of directors in the Telugu film industry?

A: Like I said previously at a function, I was very disappointed with last year’s performance of our industry. But this year is a different story. The new generation of directors, who are a talented lot, each have their own unique way of film making. With the improved technique of film making there is a lot they have to offer. But they should be careful and control things like budget, working days and avoid negative exposure. They should aim at making films which will be remembered for a long time rather than concentrating on making films that will earn them fast money and fame that will last a short time.

Q: You worked with a lot of heroes. Who are you favorite of them all?

A: Yes. I worked with almost all the heroes’ right from NTR, ANR and even Shivaji Ganeshan to the present day heroes. But I did the most number of films with NTR and ANR. They are the most disciplined actors and that is the main reason I enjoyed working with them.