Back in June 19, 1986, Thespian, Rajkumar’s first son, Shivarajkumar emerged as an actor with 'Anand'. He earned the title a Hat-trick hero with three films, 'Anand', 'Rathasapthami' and 'Mana Mechchida Hudugi' running to celebrate silver jubilee.
In a span of 26 years, his repertoire grew with action, emotion, romance, dance as he enjoyed the variety on his platter. His soon-to-be-released film, 'Shiva', will be Shivarajkumar’s 101st film. “It is like a second innings to me. We recently had a huge audio release of the film along with my fans. As the date is approaching, I feel like it's my first release,” says the 52-year-old actor.
The Hat-trick hero plays the role of a Jockey in 'Shiva', which highlights horse racing and betting. “Being a race enthusiast is just one part of the whole movie. Basically, this film travels through a lot a social issues,” he reveals.
His horizons too continue to expand. After completing his pending films, 'Lakshmi' and 'Andar Bahar', Shivarajkumar will join director, D Rajendra Babu for a film in which he plays an athlete trainer. Apparently, eighty percent of the film will be shot in Canada and USA. “I will be associating with Rajendra Babu after 9 years. It will be a love cum action cinema,” he said.
The actor is definitely in for a make over as he has transformed himself in each film looking younger by the day. “I don’t know how they are making me young but the tempo really interests me. Given the kind of subjects, I am currently working on, it has been a thrilling experience, especially when you are with the young generation directors. It has kept me on my toes,” he says.
After his hectic schedules in the recent past, he is definitely looking for a break. “My break will be from acting to direction. I will get totally involved in my home production, which I plan to start soon under Srimuttu banner. Of course, my concentration will also be on bringing out films of different kinds.” he says.
Two-and-half decades in the Kannada entertainment industry, his popularity still persists although he has seen a lot of changes from when he started and now.
“At present, the major set back in the industry is silly cat-fights amongst producers. We recently had an incident between two producers whose names I don’t want to mention. They just fought and exaggerated the whole issue for nothing. I feel ashamed when we see it happening every other day. I have never seen such incidents during my father’s tenure. I feel it is high time we all stand up as one and undertake positive publicity,” he asserts.
His voice against dubbing issues was seriously considered and respected by the film fraternity.
“I am really grateful and thank all of them. I am not against any language but I am favouring my own. Though I was brought up in Tamil Nadu, my mother tongue comes first to me. Today, we have Kannadada Kotiyadipathi conducted by my brother, Puneeth Rajkumar and it is doing exceptionally well. Why do we need to dub, when we can do it well, with our own local talent?,” asks Shivarajkumar.