BANGALORE: Actor-director-producer V Ravichandran or Crazy Star, as fans lovingly address him, built his stardom while he formed a forcefield of energy around himself. The eternal lover boy has been creating memorable movies for 30 years as an actor and director.
Now his son Manoranjan Ravichandran, who is all set to be the next pin-up torso, is glad to be launched by his father, as his career on silver screen begins with Ranadheera - Premalokadalli.
The special launch of the star’s son took place on Friday amidst much fanfare. Manoranjan says his father always did everything for him in a big way.
“My father is very true to his creativity, which is what people have liked him for. He has been discussing my launch for the past four years, but could not make it happen because of other commitments. I think the right time has come now and I am glad to have started my career in tinsel town with his blessings,” he tells us.
Though his launch happened all too suddenly, he was well prepared for it. “It was a sudden decision taken by my father. A fortnight ago, he said to me, ‘Son, get ready, I am going to launch you on May 30.’ Right now, I am overwhelmed and nervous because there is too much expectation already with the title announcement. The titles of dad’s two hits Premaloka and Ranadheera have now become the title of my film. It is upto to me to live up to my father’s name, the title and the movie,” he says.
Manoranjan grew up seeing his father rise to stardom and now with his turn, what is the one thing that he would want to take from Ravichandran on to his films?
“I can’t carry all that he has done. Learning everything from him will take me at least another 30 years. But, at the end of the day, I want to be what he is. I just want to be another Ravichandran,” he says.
Keeping his star dad aside, what has Manoranjan done to become an actor? “I took acting classes at Abhinaya Tharanga and was trained by A S Murthy’s daughter. I learnt dance in Chennai for six months and a little bit of martial arts in Bangalore. At present, I am regularly hitting the gym. There is nothing special that I am learning right now, but I think I have the basics to become a hero,” he says.
As a director, Ravichandran discussed the script and gave him the story to read. “I took two days to go through the script and I was completely happy. This apart, I have not questioned him about anything else nor has he asked for my suggestions,” says Manoranjan, who feels excited when people say he looks like his father.
“In my age, he definitely had better looks and he continues to carry himself with grace. I will feel good when I get to a stage where I am compared to him in terms of creativity. I want to be everything on silver screen - a lover boy, a mass and a class hero. I want to be a good actor before becoming a star,” he says.
Manoranjan assisted his father in the sets of Crazy Star, where he learnt about Ravichandran’s behaviour with the co-stars and some basic camera tricks. “Right now, I want to follow my father’s guidelines. He has given me the first tips to being a good actor and accordingly, I should stay calm and sleep well,” he says.