When the inspiration from Rangayana theatre in Mysore overshadowed his aspiring job with Infosys, the actor within Dhananjay knew that the risk will one day come with rewards. Now, keenly awaiting the release of his fourth big banner film,
Jessie, the actor, known even today for his performance in his debut 2013 film Director’s Special, cherishes the experience of being known by the top producers, directors and actors in the industry.
“The excitement that comes with recognition, the relief when a film succeeds and the intelligible feeling when a confusion and conflict has been overcome or healed, seems profound, especially considering the fact that I come from a village and am a farmer’s son. Today, I feel nice when a star like Darshan calls me ‘Hero’ or when Puneeth Rajkumar mentions that he would like to watch my films and senior actors recognising my talent. Of course, the whole credit goes to the directors and producers, who have brought me till here,” says Dhananjay.
The actor is hoping that with Jessie, which revolves around love, he might just nudge that big break of being a super star, but he also pragmatic in the same breath. “Nobody can be a super star with just one film. In fact, in general, whether it is cinema or business, any journey takes time. We have very few examples of actors, who have been successful in their first film itself. It is a reflection of years of effort, which clicks in that one film,” he says and adds that his belief in purity, patience and perseverance has never let him down. “This is the fourth film of mine that is getting released. Fortunately, there is expectation from me from my first film itself, and many have liked my performance. Just that a ‘big break’ is very important in every actor’s journey, which I look forward as and when my film releases,” he adds.
Considering that Jessie is a pure and unique love story by Pavan Wadeyar, according to Dhananjay, a subject on love will win any day and anytime. “Love connects us to the world. More so, the script becomes important for a good love story, which elements you can notice in Jessie. The film has a surprise, which is beyond love, which has worked for the movie. We now hope it will work with the audience too” he says.
Ask him on what basis Pavan considered him for Jessie and he says, “Pavan saw the romantic side of me. The advantage was my looks, which matched the character of a Christian boy. Of course, there are other shades too, which I shouldn’t be revealing. It will be nice if people watch and know the other shade of mine,” he says.
Along with Dhananjay features Parul Yadav who plays the female lead with Raghu Mukherjee playing a key role in Jessie. Anoop Seelin has scored the music with Arul Somasundaram doing the camerawork.