I am Ambareesh to the world, but when I enter the sets of a film, I’m another artiste. “I didn’t want any director to get intimidated by me. I made sure he was comfortable,” These were the first words of the Rebel Star, whose film, Ambi Ning Vayassaytho will be releasing on September 27.
In fact, it was his friend and actor Rajinikanth who insisted that he takes up the role. “I was initially hesitant since I felt that I was not of the age to take up a full-fledged role. But he suggested that I watch the Tamil film Pa Paandi, before making up my mind. So, I watched the film and loved the character, which is why I took it up,” he says.
Ambareesh who comes from the Puttanna Kanagal school of thought says that when it comes to cinema, nobody is legendary and that every actor in a film is equally important. “A film should speak for itself and Ambi.. will do that,” says the 67-year-old actor, who plays a role of a retired stunt master.
Having worked in about 200 films, Ambareesh says that he has had only a few opportunities to work in novel-based subjects as he was mostly considered for mass subjects. “I remember playing a doctor in a film, who had 5 to 6 fights sequences. In fact, I asked the director, ‘How can doctors fight?’, but the team demanded it. So I did it,” reveals the senior actor, who adds that his own films, Elu Suttina Kote and Mammatheya Madilu, had characters which had a lot of scope for performance.
The Rebel Star mentions the strong team of technicians, including producer Jack Manju, music director Arjun Janya and artistes Suhasini Maniratnam, Sudeep and Sruthi Hariharan. “Gurudatha Ganiga’s efficiency is worth mentioning. He is very ambitious. Handling me in a film is quite a tough task, but this young boy has managed to bring my character alive,” he says. While there were speculations of whether Ambi...will be the ‘Rebel’s last film in his career, he says, ‘Maybe.” We’ll have to wait and watch.