Going by the director of Shivarajkumar-starrer Srikanta, Manju Swaraj, the film is bound to unleash a new persona for the star, but unlike his previous glorified avatars, the actor will be shown as a common man. Clarifying that he is not experimenting with the actor’s image, Manju emphasises that in simplicity his film will find a new form of glory.
“Shivarajkumar plays the character, Srikanta, who is a common man. Having played a hero, a gangster, a father, a brother, he has never played a character that resembles one of us. Of course, there will be hero worship to bring in the commercial aspect, even then, Shivarajkumar remains natural in the film,” explains the director who has completed 80 per cent of shoot and has targeted April 30 to complete the talky portions.
To enhance the aura of simplicity and bring in the natural essence to every shot, Manju has shot most of his portions in public places, which he says was the mostly challenging task he has faced till date. “It was probably Shivarajkumar’s dedication and cooperation which made it little easier. Usually a few heroes hesitate to shoot in the midst of public, but he did not even think of his star status and was glad to shoot in the crowd. That way we could get the natural expressions of the public,” he says, but adds that his patience was tested since each shot took about an hour because of the crowd.
Revealing about a stunt scene performed by the actor, Manju says, “Shivarajkumar’s character worships a person in the film and whether he is a hero or a politician or a social worker will be revealed during the release. He is a fan of that character, who is played by a newbie. A 60-feet cutout of the character was created and the scene required Shivarajkumar to climb on it. To keep it natural, he climbed the cutout himself in just one shot. He was totally into the character and the subject,” Manju recollects.
He adds that the actor enjoyed the climb and had noted, ‘I usually see people climbing on the cutouts of my film. Today, I feel lucky to do it, though it is for a film’.
According to the director, the actor might be 53, but the enthusiasm he shows on the sets, makes him much younger. “He enjoys every bit of his filmmaking. I have never seen him spending time in a caravan. I have heard about his dedication and was lucky to witness it,” says the four-films -old director.
The makers are now left with the songs which will be shot in June. “We plan to shoot abroad but we are yet to choose the location,” he says.