Shooting for director Dayal Padmanabhan’s crime thriller Maruthi Nagar Police Station was a dream come true for Arav, who had long longed for a cop role. “When I began shooting for the film, donning the police uniform for the first time, it felt so surreal!” says Arav.
He goes on to explain why the shoot of this film was so special for him, “Before acting happened, my biggest goal was to become an IPS officer. I prepared for the civil services for 3 years and had even cleared my preliminary exams. But when modelling and acting happened, I couldn’t devote time to my studies. That’s why, shooting for this film felt like living my dream!”
The young actor was so thrilled about donning the uniform, that he was reluctant to remove it. “I loved wearing the police uniform. Only when I returned to my hotel at night, would I reluctantly remove it. After the film was completed, I got permission and brought home my police uniform as a souvenir.”
Both Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Arav play cops in the film. “I didn’t have time to meet any police officers to prep myself for the role, since we began shooting within a week after the narration. But the sheer clarity in Dayal sir’s instructions helped me get into the character of a strong and composed IPS officer.” However, on the first day of the shoot, he did feel the pressure. “My first shot involved me meeting a group of rowdies in the station. Many senior artists were on set. So, I felt the pressure of living up to everyone’s expectations and had to give my best.”
But there were lighter moments during the breaks. “We would never go to our caravans. Instead, we would all sit together, chat, eat and play mobile games. We had a lot of fun making reels for social media. One time, we even convinced director Dayal sir to dance for one of our reels!”
A large part of the shooting was done at the Sree Kanteerava Studios in Bengaluru. There were many real cops on duty in the large space along with the reel cops. “The late actor Rajkumar sir and his son Puneeth Rajkumar are buried in the studio premises.
Since a lot of people come to pay their respects, cops are always on duty there. But, with many cop films being shot in the studio, it became tough to differentiate between the actual police and the actors! One day as I was chatting with people during my break, I questioned a man in uniform about the film he was working in. He shook his head and replied that he had come there on duty! Only then I realised that I had been chatting with a real cop all along!”