Vivid shades to one role

It's hard to imagine actor Chiranjeevi Sarja play a shy guy on screen.  His earlier roles as a youngster lost in love in ‘Ajith’, a cop in ‘Vardhanayaka’ and a pizza delivery boy in ‘Whistle’ have all done well to strike a balance of various emotions without making sure the characters go overboard.

But in the first half of ‘Rudratandava’, Chiranjeevi appears as a shy guy but there's a visible transformation in the second part where he not only undergoes a complete change of look but switches to a tough character.  “I also had to change my look and put on a lot of weight for the second part. We had to stop the shooting for three months so that I could grow a beard. I don’t believe in too much of make up and feel natural look is always better and has a stronger impact on the viewers,” explains Chiranjeevi.

Sharing his experience of working with Radhika Kumaraswamy, who plays the character of a teacher in the film, Chiranjeevi says, “ I always had this pre-conceived notion that she (Radhika) was a reserved person but I was so wrong about her. She would be on time for shooting while we would end up coming in late. She’s a thorough professional and more than anything, she’s fun to be with.” 

Chiranjeevi says the story revolves around a family in a small village. Things change when the older son is murdered by a mafia gang. “It’s a story of how a simple family is forced to take revenge after their son has been done to death for no fault of theirs. There is drama and romance weaved in the right places to make sure the action sequences don’t hog all the limelight,” he states.

Chiranjeevi hasn’t worked on a character like this in a long time and he says that it was indeed a little tough for him to play  a shy, sober guy in the first half. 

“I am so used to being the baddie on screen that suddenly I found it funny to slow down. The different characters I’ve played thus far have all gone on to enrich my experience as a actor,” he wraps up.