Despite being the grandson of veteran comedian Narasimha Raju, actor Avinash Narasimharaju has always walked his own path. Having tasted success with Jugaari, he is one Sandalwood actor who, while being over-fastidious, has always been ready to experiment. “This year, I will be busy as I have five projects lined up. Right now, I am at the dubbing stage of my film E Dil Helide Nee Bekunta,” says Avinash.
The title E Dil... clearly indicates that it is a love story; a genre that Avinash is trying for the first time. “I never had an inclination towards doing love stories. Having always been in films which were more expressive, I thought of trying something which revolved around love. I wasn’t sure about dancing around trees, but I tried it with E Dil... and thankfully, it was a good experience. It is a romantic film shot at three locations - Bangalore, Theerthalli and Shimoga. We also shot at very interesting places like Kalsa, Tumkur, Shimoga and Bhadravathi,” he says.
The actor’s next project Ooty will be directed by Mahesh Kumar. The film is an adaptation of the novel Pritya Arasi written by Krishnamurthy Chamaram, which was printed and published by the government of Karnataka. He has also written the dialogues and lyrics for the film.
“Love gets more intense in Ooty, as the film traces the Cauvery riots of 1991. The backdrop of the story connects the three states with the Malayali heroine and the Kannadiga hero, while they work at the Tamil Nadu border. How a few incidents and political gimmicks rip the two apart is what makes the story. Ooty is just considered as a picnic spot, but not many know about the significance of the place. This film will present one incident which took place during the Cauvery riots,” says Avinash, who accepted the film seven months ago and is glad that it is going on floors now. “I will be heading to Ooty on May 14 and we will also be shooting at Chamarajanagar and Mysore. Malayalam actor Mohanlal has been approached and the makers are yet to finalise the heroine, who should have a Malayali look. Even Kishore is likely to play a guest role in the film, with director B M Giriraj turning actor,” he adds.
This apart, Avinash will soon be joining hands with his brother SD Aravind for a project that might start in June. “My brother is currently working on two subjects and I do not know which will be the final one. Both stories are equally good and I am sure he will pick the best for me,” he says.
A sculptor-turned-actor, Avinash is also an art director. “My creativity never ends with just being an actor. I recently completed shooting three commercial advertisements and now, I am working on a project which will soon become a necessity for the cinema industry. I cannot reveal the details now, but once I am done, you will all know of it,” he signs off.