'I've changed my look for this film'

You can’t imagine comedy in Sandalwood without actor Jaggesh. Known for his perfect timing, Jaggesh will turn just about any subject into something that people will not only want to watch over and over again but will remember for a long time.

Jaggesh forayed into direction with ‘Guru’ in which he launched his son Gururaj. His second directorial is ‘Melkote Manja’, which deals with how people take loans but forget to repay it.

Jaggesh plays the character of a young man who juggles multiple businesses but all of them fail one by one. He finally becomes a money-lender. He is then forced to part with huge sums of money. When people don’t return the money, he flees the village. “I’ve changed my look for this film. I’ve slimmed down and my make-up too has been experimented upon,”adds Jaggesh.

He says that he decided to take up the direction of ‘Melkote Manja’ because the script and the characters were unusual. “Few people know that I began my career assisting several directors but due to paucity of time, I’ve stayed away from direction. However busy I maybe, I make it a point to direct at least one film a year,” explains Jaggesh.  

Jaggesh also has actress Aindrita Ray paired opposite him. “I meet the character played by Aindrita when I am on the run. And we bump into each other when she’s in a tricky situation. Things turn in favour of the couple,” he observes. 

Jaggesh is also working on another project titled ‘Navarasa’ and Yogaraj Bhat’s ‘Vastu Prakara’, which takes a dig at people who believe and swear by ‘vaastu shastra’. “I think people must first be clean in the heart and mind rather than be guided by ‘vastu shastra’. If you are a good human being, then only good will come to you,” reasons Jaggesh.

He confesses that he holds immense regard for director Yogaraj Bhat. “Yogaraj directs only two movies a year but the ones that he makes leaves a lasting impression on the viewers. He does well to go beyond the ordinary. This is the only movie in which I have worked for close to 14 hours a day,” he says.  

Jaggesh adds, “I’ve got the perfect script that I was looking for in ‘Vastu Prakara.’ ‘Vaastu’ is a sensitive topic and a lot of people repose blind faith in ‘vaastu.’ And it is taken into account for everything that people do whether marriage, constructing a house, business venture,” feels Jaggesh. He further states that this movie presents this obsession with ‘vaastu’ in a light-hearted manner without hurting anybody’s sentiments.