He is an actor who has tested the waters with every film. But at no point, Dhananjay admits, has he felt any sort of pressure. “When you know you have worked hard for a project, everything else takes a back seat. Moreover, people have recognised and appreciated me as an actor. That's validation enough,” says Dhananjay.
The actor, who rose to fame with his character Daali in Tagaru, hopes to create the same sensation with his next Bhairava Geetha. The bilingual film — made in Kannada and Telugu is directed by Siddhartha Thatholu and also marks his debut in Tollywood.
“Bhairava Geetha was something which came about unexpectedly. Who knew that a director of Ram Gopal Varma's calibre would come, watch the film, Tagaru and offer me a film? I hadn't even met RGV before that. At no point did I go behind him. It's turned out to be a big launch for me in both in Telugu and a good film in Kannada. The ambiance created on the film's sets, and the way director, Siddhartha carried forward his vision is amazing,” he says.
The 10-film-old actor is now hoping that Bhairava Geetha will be another feather in his cap. Despite the slight delay, Dhananjay is confident that it will succeed. On stepping foot into Tollywood, Dhananjay says, “Getting to work in another industry, gives an actor new ideas and a chance to work with a new team. There is a lot of learning,” he says. In Bhairava Geetha, a violent love story, the actor has attempted to play a coolie.
“Though it has been tagged a violent love story, the undercurrent of Bhairava Geetha is a fight between the feudal and labour class. The presentation of the story is very realistic,” says Dhananjay, who believed in the story, director and RGV — who first spotted him.