Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha marks the Kannada debut of Dhanya Balakrishna, and the actor wants to shout out loud, and say, “The Kannada girl, hailing from Malleswaram in Bengaluru, has finally made it to Sandalwood.” Dhanya, who started her acting career in theatre, had her first stint on the silver screen with AR Murugadoss’s 7aum Arivu, alongside Suriya and Sruthi Haasan. Her cameo appearance in the Telugu film, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, starring Mahesh Babu, took her a long way. Dhanya has also made a mark in Malayalam movies before entering Kannada cinema.
“The title, Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha, means ‘A golden opportunity for the public’. Likewise, I was one among the various artistes waiting for good projects, which finally came to me through Anoop Ramaswamy’s directorial,” she tells City Express, So what’s Dhanya’s definition of a ‘good film’? “I look at the script, how my character develops in the story, if I have enough scope to perform, and the overall picture,” she replies. And how does she want to make her work stand out from the rest? “People should be reminded of me much after my film’s release, they should know I have entertained them, or I have made an impact with my role. Cinema is a strong medium, and a message or my role can stay in people’s minds for a long time. It makes me feel privileged,” she says.
Coming back to Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha, Dhanya says the film can be classified as a light-hearted comedy-drama. “It’s about the life of a middle-class youth, an MBA graduate, who out of desperation, comes up with creative ways to make money. I play the hero’s love interest, who is also an MBA student from the middle-class background. The emotional connect woven around my medical condition forms the thread of the romantic story,” she reveals.
Having worked with well-known directors at the beginning of her career, Dhanya finds there is a lot of difference when it comes to working with a whole lot of youngsters. “Since I came with a little experience, I did try and give a few suggestions, and they found them an old thought. I then felt that I was acting like a senior. On the sets of Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha, the experience was new for me. The way the director has dealt with the subject has made it emerge in a very organic manner. The film will bring in a new wave, especially for Anoop and Rishi,” says Dhanya, who also found Rishi a committed actor. All the actors, including senior artiste Dattanna, treated the film like a play, and one can have a whole new experience while watching it on the big screen, she adds.
Dhanya’s now wants to do well in all the film industries while exploring more work in Sandalwood. “Ideally, I should have done a lot of films here, but whatever came to me was not up to the mark. Probably, I was destined to start my Kannada outing with Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha, and here I am,” she says.