EXCLUSIVE: Nikhil Siddhartha on Karthikeya 2’s National Award triumph, “It was made on a limited budget and it demanded patience and struggle”

Nikhil Siddhartha, along with the producer Abhishek Agarwal, is currently in Delhi to attend the 70th National Film Awards 2024 where his film Karthikeya 2 won the award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. The film’s Hindi version also became a grand success and that helped it become a Pan-India hit. Nikhil shared his excitement exclusively with Bollywood Hungama ahead of the ceremony.

Nikhil said, “Frankly speaking, it is still like a dream come true. I know the movie has done extremely well at the box office and garnered the audience’s love, especially in the Pan-India format across different languages. We always had thought to give a universal concept through the film that can connect the entire nation, and it would be rewarded with the audience’s love and box office in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu markets. I am glad this film is accepted by the entire nation from south to east and west to north, and I think that’s the biggest achievement for Kartikeya 2. Today we are getting a National Award; it is truly a satisfying experience.”

Directed by Chandoo Mondeti, Karthikeya 2 revolves around the story of Dr Karthikeya (Nikhil) who goes on a trip to Dwarka, Gujarat with his mother. He gets embroiled in the search of an ancient anklet belonging to Lord Krishna. This also gets him face-to-face with a number of evil forces. How Karthikeya tackles them and goes about finding the secret forms the rest of the story.

Nikhil further added, “I am grateful that all the hard work we had gone through is getting the due reward it deserves as this movie was made on a limited budget, we had a certain limit, and to pull off a movie on such a large scale with a huge canvas and so much of a graphical shot, it had to be innovative and creative and demanded patience, struggle, and cutting off of the luxuries and to go for real locations. I am thankful that all the pain and hard work involved is now getting its worth as receiving this prestigious award from the president for Kartikeya 2. I just want to thank everyone involved, and I want to thank heartily the government of India for recognizing it.”

The success of Kartikeya 2 has cemented Nikhil Siddharth as a household name. He will next be seen in Ram Charan’s venture The India House directed by Ram Vamsi Krishna and period mythological movie Swayambhu directed by Bharat Krishnamachari.

Also Read: 70th National Film Awards 2024: Mithun Chakraborty on receiving Dadasaheb Phalke Award: “God has repaid me for all the difficulties I faced”