Having begun the year with the award-winning film Shivayogi Sri Puttayyajja, actor Vijay Raghavendra’s career shows more pluses than minuses, but he is someone who does not look at what he has achieved, but at what he aspires for.
Now, the busy actor is juggling the promotion of his upcoming film Nanna Ninna Prema Kathe (NNPK), judging a reality show Drama Juniors, hosting a show and keeping an eye on his dance studio, all the while shooting for his film Kismat which is being directed by him as well.
According to him, having found fame as a child artiste has kept him grounded. And he is one actor who chooses to be called an actor and not a hero. “I like everything about art and that is where I like to keep my focus on,” he says.
Speaking about NNPK, directed by Shivu Jamkhandi, Vijay says the film has a North Karnataka backdrop and uses Jawari style Kannada, which is spoken in Jamkhandi and Bijapur. “Shooting at the two cities was an experience in its own. Horsallu Horg ninthre gedre makla, eldidre thode hardu tambak thumbthini noodi is the kind of language I speak throughout the film. Their usage of slang is completely different,” says Vijay, on the typical dialect of the region.
A love story, which according to him is typical with a ‘boy meets girl’ theme, has been creatively made different using dramatic circumstances. “The film is set against Gol Gumbaz, which is known as the poor man’s Taj Mahal. My character is built along those lines and I come from a lower middle class family, a role I like to play. In it, I am pushed to the corner and eventually revolt,” explains Vijay and adds that the highlight of the film will be the climax, which promises to be moving.
He also reveals that after Ninagagi, which was his debut as an adult, he only got romantic characters. “Eventually, even filmmakers thought that people will not accept me in any other role, where I am seen as soft and relatable. In fact, the director of NNPK has given me some catchy punchlines as he is confident that it works for the subject and my character,” he says.
NNPK also features Tilak and Chikkanna, and Nidhi Subbaiah makes a comeback in Kannada with this.
“Chikkanna is not just a comedian in the film, but plays an important character,” he points out.
The actor asserts that he does not expect larger-than-life treatment in his films and is comfortable being ordinary. “My father always said, ‘don’t run behind opportunities, but when it comes knocking your doors, don’t leave it’, and I am following his advice,” he says.
The actor who has been part of multi-starrer projects like Kalla Malla Sulla and Snehitaru, says that when choosing films, he has always believed in being part of a successful project irrespective of whether he has to carry the entire film on his shoulders or share the screen with other actors. “I am after a good script. As long as I have acted in that film and my character is remembered, my job is done. I can never be calculative nor can I think about my screen space,” he says.
