Sandalwood’s new breed of budding actors has added one more name to its list of talent—Suraj Gowda. The model-turned-actor has been selected to play the lead for Kaviraj’s directorial debut, Maduveya Mamatheya Kareyole. The film, produced by Dinakar under Thoogudeepa Productions, has Amulya as the leading lady.
Having bagged a big-budget project involving industry stalwarts, its is no wonder that the young actor with chocolate boy looks is not taking the project lightly. He will be in Mysuru for a month to taking acting classes at Natana, where he will be personally trained by Mandya Ramesh. “I have attended a few acting classes before but I wanted to brush up my skills because this is a big project. More importantly, this is where Darshan and Dinakar also got coached before they became big names. It was Dinakar who advised me to take up the classes and I felt it was for my own good,” he says.
Suraj has struggled through the road to stardom, and his hard work paid off when he won a reality show, Paradeshadalli Paradaata. He has also done about 15 TV commercials and has been a brand ambassador for five products “I won the Mr Karnataka title in 2013 and was also Mr Mysuru. I have also done an art film, a music video and an experimental film Kahi, whose shooting has just ended,” he reveals.
The aspiring actor, who was chosen after auditioning about 5000 youngsters, is also taking dance lessons and learning kickboxing. “I have not taken up any other assignments, be it TV commercials or fashion shows. I want to prepare well for this role before I get on to the sets from April,” he says.
Suraj Gowda’s five strengths
I was below 26 years
There were looking for someone with a chocolate boy image
They liked my performance at the audition
They tested my dancing skills with Kalai master who gave a green signal
I matched the height criteria and they also liked my smile