Raksh will be joining the bandwagon of those actors who have made their transition from television to the silver screen. Having come to limelight with serials like Puttagowri Maduve and now Gattimela which have ruled the TRPs, he now makes his tinsel town debut with Naragundha Bandaya.
Interestingly, the actor now admits that he always wanted to be a cinema hero, which came to him a little late in the day. "Television was never my cup of tea," says Raksh.
Ahead of the film’s release on March 12, the actor talks about his upcoming period drama, being a theatre artiste, his passion towards cinema, and how he accidentally got into television, which eventually gave him a push to fulfil his dreams.
"I have six films in hand, but three films have halted midway, and the other three are yet to see its release. My dream has come true with Naragundha Bandaya," says Raksh, who is active in the theatre space, having done nine years with the troupe Prathikriye.
“I had the opportunity to go behind the camera for a few films, and even had two films launched before stepping onto the small screen. But unfortunately it did take off as per plan. My performance in theatre caught the attention of Ramji, the producer of serial, Puttagowri Maduve, who compelled me to do teleserials as at that time TV was taking a different route. He felt that being part of his serial might help in future, and it did”, he adds.
Moving forward, his current focus is his debut launch, Nagendra Magadi’s directorial which is a biopic on Veerappa Basappa Kadlikoppa. “Naragundha Bandaya is based on the first-ever farmers’ revolt that took place in 1980.
Naragundha is located about 60 km from Hubli and is known to be the revolutionary land of farmers. How Veerappa Basappa Kadlikoppa was shot dead in the biggest revolt ever that took place in Karnataka. His courage and his fight were massively appreciated. This movement advocated the creation of the ‘hasiru vasthra’ for the very first time. Upon his death, a massive revolt took place with the government falling,” reveals Raksh about his role in the period drama.
Raksh, who always intended that his first film be distinctive, admits his transition was challenging. “For those who have always seen me as a chocolate boy on television, they will now see a fresh me on silver screen. I also chose to be part of a risky subject, and play the role of a farmer. This made me go through a transition both physically and mentally,” he says.
Apart from being an actor, Raksh feels fortunate to get into the technical aspects of the film, and be involved in the post-production work too.
"I worked for four films as assistant directors which helped me technically evolve as an assistant director before turning actor. It is a complete action-packed drama which comes with a flash of technical brilliance,' he says.
Naragundha Bandaya, jointly produced by Shekar Yaluvigi and Siddhesh Viratamatha, with the latter also taking credit as the story writer, features Shubha Pooja opposite Raksh. Dharma Vish has scored the film’s music and cinematography is by R Giri. The cast also includes Sadhu Kokila, Avinash , Bhavya, Ravi Chethan, and Neenasam Ashwath.