Kalyaan Dhev, who awaits the release of Vijetha, says that becoming an actor was his childhood dream. “I’ve always wanted to be an actor since I was really little. My passion is to act. After engineering, I was into my family business and it was only recently that I’ve learnt the nuances of acting from Satyanand master for six months. After that, I got an offer from Bollywood, but it didn’t work out. Finally, I’m making my debut with Vijetha that delves into the father-son relationship,” says Kalyaan, who is also Megastar Chiranjeevi’s son-in-law. He is married to the star’s younger daughter Srija.
The debutant comes with the baggage of a mega family and knows that he has to keep up to that reputation as there are expectations. “I know that fans will have expectations. But the only reason for signing up for this project is because of my mavayya (Chiranjeevi)’s judgement. If a man having such exceptional experience in the industry pleased with the script, I felt it’s going to be the right film for my launch pad.”
The film’s title was borrowed from Chiranjeevi’s 1985 hit Vijetha. So, is it a sequel to the Megastar’s film? “We didn’t think of any title for a long time. When Rakesh suggested Vijetha, we wanted to keep it as the working title fearing a backlash from fans. Once the shooting is completed, the team is convinced that the title Vijetha was ideal for this story. The story is entirely different from mavayya’s film and I’m sure this will be really exciting.”
The film is all about an engineering graduate, who is being criticised by his father for being jobless. “Vijetha has the same action, comedy, dance and a little bit of everything. But the packaging is different and two-three aspects will spring a surprise,” he adds.
Kalyaan says that he experienced a sense of fulfilment on the first day of the shoot itself when he had to do a solo scene of walking out from a car. “When I finished and looked around there was a pin drop silence on the location with a group of people staring at me. It was a tender moment. Thereafter, I started to interact with everyone on the sets and that comfort helped me bring out the right emotions.”
He has no qualms doing whatever that the profession demands. “I believe in realistic cinema and I want to try and work in diverse genres. I want to strike a balance by doing commercial, action and romantic films. If a role demands, I don’t mind going through an extra mile to sport a six-pack or is comfortable undergoing physical transformations,” explains Kalyaan, adding, “I am inclined towards offbeat films too. I feel it’s about testing one’s acting abilities and doing stuff I need the effort to do.”
Has his wife Srija watched the film? Kalyan makes a startling revelation. “I must admit that she is not a movie buff and watches one or two films...not more than that! She is yet to watch this movie, but saw a few rushes along with her father (Chiranjeevi). She has been really supportive and complimented me for what all she had seen,” he signs off.
— Murali Krishna CH
muralikrishna.db@newindianexpress
@onlymurali