Darshan is celebrated as a Mass Hero, and Chakravarthy is sure to take him further. A film, which is set to release in around 450 theaters early in the morning, is already shattering records. In a conversation with City Express, the actor speaks of his larger-than-life roles, of what it means to be a ‘Box office Sultan’ and what according to him entertainment is as of today.
Playing a don is tricky, but it appeals to the audience. Darshan, who is not new to gangster films and has ‘fought’ on reel streets and states, says this is the first time such a movie goes international. There will be sequences shot in Malaysia, among other places. “Good work is independent of the venue,” he says. “Sitting in a right place, I can do a wrong thing and sitting in a wrong place, I can do right things. That is what Chakravarthy is all about.” he adds
But how much does an underworld-themed movie give him scope to perform? “Manegintha desha doddadu (The country is bigger than your house) is what we should understand and what is shown in this film,” he says. “We always think of our house and family, and don’t end up seeing the bigger world outside.”
Darshan makes a special mention of producer Siddanth, his new found friend, and director Chinthan. “I alone can’t take all the credit of a film because it is teamwork,” he says. “In this project, Siddanth and Chinthan led us to do well. Chinthan is very focused on his work and has clarity about his work.”
The actor is waiting to watch the film on the release day but, from whatever he has seen of the final cut, Darshan is confident about its outcome. “Unlike those other film directors who shut us out after dubbing, the makers of Chakravarthy kept the doors open and kept us in the loop about what is happening in the post production stages. This helped us know how the film was shaping up. That’s why I am confident about this film,” he says.
Darshan says all the credit of his success so far goes to his fans. He says he never gives much thought to box-office success he has seen so far. “I always think of this journalist, Vijay Sarathy, who is no more. He gave me that title ‘Box-office Sultan’... Though people have often repeated that title, it was he who coined it first and wished me well,” says Darshan.
Chinthan, the director of Chakravarthy had compared Darshan’s mass popularity with that of Rajinikanth. But Darshan says his inspiration comes from all the villains and heroes of the Kannada industry, whom he “worships”, he says.
After two decades in the industry, Darshan says that he still has no rules on what kind of films he will be part of. “I like to surrender to my fans,” he says. “So if they expect me to do a Majestic kind of a film, I am ready to do it as many times as they want to watch it.”
He strongly believes in the value of entertainment. Darshan says, “A film, should make people forget themselves, their sorrows and mundane thoughts, it should transport them into another world for at least two and a half hours. If we keep the audience happy and see a smile on their faces, then we have done it right.”