Shivarajkumar completes 34 years as a film actor on February 19, the day he faced the camera for the first time for his debut, Anand. The Hatrick hero is now going through the same kind of excitement to start of his 123rd project, RDX.
The film, made under the Sathya Jyothi Films banner, is directed by Ravi Arasu. It is getting launched on Wednesday.
“It is a promising project and I am glad to be getting associated with a good team. I hope that I go through the same kind of experience that I had when I did Anand,” he says.
Shivarajkumar says he is yet to analyse the changes and improvisation he has gone through with each passing year of his career.
“However, I always wish to be the same ‘Shivarajkumar’ I was when I started with Anand. With years of experience, I am looking towards doing more quality films and the ones that are more message-oriented,” says the Century Star.
Recalling the first day of shoot for Anand, Shivanna says he was not scared, but there was a certain kind of anxiety in him about how it would be to be surrounded by a lot of people.
“Will I be able to do it, and how I am going to appear, were the questions in my mind, I remember. Thank God, the first dialogue ‘nan hesaru Anand’ (my name is Anand) was delivered by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, and it started on a positive note. I was a little emotional when everybody clapped and was excited when I overheard somebody telling me that I looked handsome. It was a memorable day and experience,” he shares.
In the last three decades, he has seen the industry go through various stages and changes. And he has mixed feelings when he looks at the medium today.
“Technically, we have come far, and we have raised the bar. But somehow I don’t see the freedom that we had during those times. Today, there are some kinds of restrictions in terms of the work atmosphere. But it is for the betterment of our industry if it helps the audience accept the film. At that time, everything looked new, but over 34 years those things may have started to look cliched for the cine-goners. So everything should be handled cleverly today,” says Shivanna, adding, “But individually, I remain the same, there is no change in my behaviour except that I have a caravan, which I enter only once during the break. I experience the same kind of liveliness that I would like to see on the sets of all of my films.”
He is known as the Hatrick hero, Century Star and Karunada Chakravarthy but for the actor, he loves it when people call him ‘Shivanna’, says the actor. Shivarajkumar is currently shooting for Bharjarangi 2, which is in the last phase of shooting. Coming up next is RDX. He has also confirmed a project with his cousin, Lakshman (Lakki Gopal).
“The film was earlier titled SRK but it will be changed,” reveals Shivanna, who has also given a green signal to cinematographer-director Vijay Milton’s project. His 125th film will be Bhairathi Ranagal with director Narthan.