The 80’s witnessed a renewed approach towards Tamil cinema making way for fresh faces in the industry, who we remember till date. It was a time when heroines where all-rounders – it was not all about running around the trees and lip-syncing the songs, they were great actors and dancers and they oozed glamour when they had to. One such performer was Amala Akkineni, who was a league apart in the industry for her “girl-next-door” persona and her breath-taking dancing skills. Today, she lives for a cause and has nurtured her passion for animals into a movement. In JFW 2015 Cover story interview she looks back to how she fell in love. Here are extracts from the interview.

“When Nag proposed to me, I felt like I was going into a long holiday and it lasted for 20 years.”

With back to back hits like Shiva and more, she was at the peak of her career when she decided to marry Nagarjuna. With a blush on her face and glitter in her eyes, she shares her sweet little love story, “Well like movies, love and marriage also happened. Nag surprised me out of the blue and asked me to marry him. After all the euphoria and excitement subsided, I asked him, “Will we move to Hyderabad??” He said, “Yes.” I said, “I don’t have to rush to work?” He said, “If you don’t want to you need not my dear. You can do whatever you like to do.” I was so excited at that thought. I was tired of continuously working and living life out of a suitcase. About 50 films in 8 years is a lot, so I was really exhausted. When Nag proposed to me, I felt like I was going into a long holiday and it lasted for 20 years. It’s just been a beautiful journey.”

“Over time I learned to love and respect Nag’s family immensely.”

Marrying Nagarjuna meant walking into the prestigious Akkineni family. “I was naive. I just knew Nag as an individual. However, I did know ANR garu as a legendary actor. So, when I married Nag it was Nag the person whom I admired and appreciated as an actor. However, when I walked into the family, like any other marriage, everyone was a little cautious initially. They didn’t know who I was and I did not have any clue about who they were. However, over time I learned to love and respect his family immensely. It was actually in the 2nd year of our marriage when Akhil was born, the family took a sigh of relief and understood that I was a nice person.”