'Passion for acting drives me'

Endearing Actor

Karan Bhojana is the quintessential boy-next-door who wants to make it big in movies no matter what it takes. “No, I’m not from Coorg. I’m a Bangalorean and my mother tongue is Kannada,” he says with a dimpled smile. Barely twenty with one film in Tamil titled Shweta (a romantic thriller) under his belt and scheduled for release soon, Karan exudes naivete and earnestness that is quite endearing.

Coming from a joint family of automobile dealers, he is the first member to venture into the world of films. “My uncle Satish, who is also my mentor and guide, has many friends in the Sandalwood fraternity and I grew up listening to their stories and experiences. I guess they influenced me to try my hand at acting,” he says. Not that he ever used influence to get into films as he is determined to make it on his own, he hastens to add.

“I had an offer early on to act in a Kannada film but since I had no idea about professional acting I felt it would be wiser to learn the craft before facing the camera. I enrolled in Anupam Kher's acting academy in Mumbai and it helped me a great deal,” he says.

The young actor is also busy taking dance classes, language lessons (Tamil and Telugu) and working out at the gym for several hours a day. “My life was ruled by two passions — acting and biking. I own a super bike – a Yamaha R 1 but now I don't really find time to ride it much. I also have to be careful as taking foolish risks is off the cards for me.” 

He describes himself as a foodie, with a penchant for Italian cuisine; an animal lover who is devoted to his pet labrador named Buddy and a total movie buff — whose favourite Sandalwood star is Shivrajkumar.

“Shooting Shweta was a great way of gently inducting myself into the film fraternity. My co-star was Kirti Chawla who is already a well established actress with a number of hits to her credit. She was very kind and understanding totally putting me at ease during the shoot. Acting is not easy, but it’s the passion that drives you. We had to shoot under a waterfall in Cochin for a four-minute song, which took four full days to film. We were drenched the entire time from seven in the morning to five in the evening but I enjoyed it,” he laughs.

With one more Kannada film signed and two offers from Tamil film industry, Karan was on his way to meet up with a director from Hyderabad to discuss the script for a Telugu film. He went to add, “I never expected such an overwhelming response from film-makers in the South. I want to do movies that have good storylines and something to say. Romantic comedies are what interests me now.”
Modelling is not his cup of tea and he currently, has no space in his life for anything else but acting. No girlfriend either!