Exclusive: Sudeep opens up on handling stardom

Upbeat about his upcoming big-budget release ‘Vikrant Rona’, Kannada star Sudeep talks to Vivek M V about the major turning points of his career

Sudeep is on a promotion-spree, giving nonstop interviews to the media as he gears up for the biggest release of his career, ‘Vikrant Rona’, a fantasy drama directed by Anup Bhandari.

Despite his busy schedule, the actor is crystal clear as he opens up to Showtime about the pan-Indian film, his career choices, handling stardom and more: Excerpts:

Is ‘Vikrant Rona’ a visual spectacle that just entertains or does it also make people think?

It’s a little bit of both. Without the entertainment aspect, I don’t think we can keep the audience glued for more than two hours. The fans have a blast when the entertaining or exciting moments aren’t forced. Forced characters can also damage a film. And yes, right from the first scene, ‘Vikrant Rona’ makes you think.

Director Anup Bhandari says the film does justice to the performer and the star in you...

It’s a balanced performance because it not only caters to my star image but also focuses on the actor in me. People often tell me that when they come to watch my films, they still remember my performance in ‘Huchcha’. The film gives me enough scope to showcase my swag and trademark attitude on screen.

You excelled in complex roles in films like ‘Eega’, ‘Rann’ and ‘Dabbang 3’. Is it difficult to balance such opportunities with your image of a star?

I really don’t know the height and depth of my stardom. I think the fan base and the love I have received from everybody is because I only went behind scripts and didn’t think of who I am catering my films to. Some may not have been the greatest of scripts but they did excite me at that moment. I do not regret anything in my career and neither do I want to be in fear while picking scripts. I always go by my instinct and I still believe in that.

In the first half of your career, we saw you in intense roles in ‘Huchcha’, ‘My Autograph’ and ‘Swathi Muthu’. Later on, the roles lacked depth as you donned the role of an entertainer...

In the first decade of my career, I was behaving my age. I picked complex characters that weren’t of my age. I thought, other industries have wonderful actors and when they are doing such things, why can’t we do it? So I was trying to handle such challenges. Then came a point when I thought I was doing well and I should have some fun by doing outright commercial films.

There is a story to it. One day, I was going through a magazine and it had a list of Kannada heroes. It looked like they were rating the stars. It appeared as if they were determining the position of the heroes in the industry. I was slotted in the third line and I was wondering on what basis they pushed me so low in the standings? Just because I do a ‘My Autograph’ or a ‘No 73 Shanthi Nivasa’, is that how they see me? I gave it a lot of thought and told myself if the box-office collection of the first few weeks is what matters then I am going to go in that direction. That’s when I first made ‘Veera Madakari’ (2009). Then came ‘Kempegowda’ (2011), ‘Vishnuvardhana’ (2011) and the rest.

Earlier I was making meaningful films. Now, I still take important subjects but sugarcoat them with commercial aspects. A ‘Maanikya’ (2014) is no different from ‘No 73 Shanthi Nivasa’ except that the latter, though it might sound cliched, is sugarcoated.

How do you explain actors, including you, opting for several remakes?

It’s about survival. What’s the point when someone says you are good but you aren’t number one? If you see others flourishing, you would want to climb up the ladder too and if you don’t, someone smart will overtake you. That doesn’t mean you will do something that’s against your belief. You will still opt for something of your taste but add spice to it to make the film more commercial.

I guess that’s how the industry operates. In cinema, stardom at the end of the day is nothing if you don’t convert your massive following into tickets. People might love you for your personality, talking style and what you do to the society. But you need to question yourself how many of them are loving you for your films. And media shouldn’t put it across as though it’s our social responsibility to choose original films. We are also humans, who are here to craft our journeys and succeed in them.

‘Just Maath Maathalli’, irrespective of the result, seemed like a film close to your heart. Do you miss the writer-director in you?

As far as the film’s theme is concerned, I am a strong believer that what goes around comes around. ‘Just Maath Maathalli’ was karmic for me. I depicted what can happen to you, if a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ isn’t used properly. I am also someone who likes a person, be it a man or a woman, for his or her intelligence and the way they speak. That appeals to me and that’s what I tried to bring out on the screen. The film was probably five years ahead of its time. Now people are calling it a cult-classic and many say they have watched it more than once.

I miss making films but to be honest, today if I were to make a movie, I may not be able to make it as genuinely or honestly as I did before. My mind operates differently. I now first think about how I can attract the crowd and get a good opening for the film.