Everyone is eagerly awaiting for the release of Kavacha, especially since the Hatrick hero dons a role of a different kind, that of a blind man. GVR Vasu’s directorial, starring Shivarajkumar, will hit theatres this Friday, and fans of the Century Star are organising eye donation camps on the day of its release.
Shivanna too is keen to know the audiences’ reaction to his character in his 120th film, considering that it’s a new kind of role. “One of my previous films had me playing the role of a blind person, but it was just limited to a couple of scenes. This is the first film where I play a full-fledged character with a visual disability,” he says, revealing that a film with director Nagathihalli Chandrashaker on the lines of Blind Fury was on the cards, but didn’t work out ultimately.
Kavacha means ‘protection’ which the actor feels has a universal connect. “Parents are protective of children, siblings look out for each other as goes with spouses. So, it’s a subject that everyone can relate to,” he says, adding that he realised that differently-abled are not weak in any manner.
“In the case of any form of disability, there’s always another faculty that is very strong. I have attempted to bring this out in my character. The film is an emotional drama with a strong message too,” he explains.
For an actor like Shivanna, who has experimented with different kinds of roles, playing the role of someone differently-abled came with a set of challenges. “A coach from the blind school trained me for the role. Getting the right body language, keeping the eyeballs intact, but bringing out the right emotions at the same time was a task. I now understand the difficulties of the blind. There were times I got carried away with my character, and would behave the same way off-screen. I got into the character and understood the passion, pain and desire to want to make others laugh,” he says.
Shivanna believes in accepting and experimenting with roles without any expectations. The actor credits directors who have tried to portray him in different characters. Citing examples of few directors such as Suri, P Vasu, Ram Gopal Varma and young director Narthan, he says they have not only placed him in exceptional roles, but also those that are age appropriate.