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No stopping Shivanna @60

The star looks back on a career spanning 36 years and tells Vivek M V about how some of the biggest hits in Kannada cinema came to be made
Last Updated 06 August 2022, 17:20 IST

Shivarajkumar, the veteran Kannada star who celebrated his 60th birthday recently, is in no mood to slow down. The actor is always on a signing spree. “A hero should be able to do any number of films. It excites me to switch from one character to other,” he says.

Showtime sat down with the hat-trick hero of the Kannada film industry for a freewheeling chat on his glorious career of 36 years and counting. Excerpts:

As an actor, how did you come out of the shadow of your father and thespian Dr Rajkumar?

Initially, my family helped me a lot. Many directors from my father’s team began making films with me. I got the opportunity to work with technicians who were legends in an era before mine. I feel special that the likes of Upendra Kumar, TG Lingappa and Shankar Ganesh composed music for my films. Cinematographer Chitti Babu, who was very experienced, worked in my films. A veteran like V Somashekhar trusted me in an action role in ‘Ranaranga’ (1988) and people who called me a ‘Dancing Star’ began hailing me as an action hero.

Then outside of my team, many directors started seeing me as a solid catalyst to tell their stories. They had a vision with me. So I did ‘Inspector Vikram’ (1989) with Dinesh Babu. Many filmmakers pushed me as a performer, like in ‘Yuvaraja’ by Puri Jagannadh in 2001. I was around 40 but had to play a college-going boy, which was challenging. I did films based on novels and explored the horror genre as well.

You have had a versatile career. What was the thought process behind selecting films at the peak of your career?

I feel I was blessed to get scripts of different genres. They just fell on my lap. For instance, I did cop movies like ‘Annavaru Maklu’ (1995) and ‘Rakshasa’ (2005), but in between and after them, I did ‘Jogi’ (2004) and ‘Santha’ (2007), which were gangster films.

Even before ‘Jogi’, which is one of the biggest hits of my career, I did the sister series with films like ‘Thavarige Baa Thangi’ (2002), ‘Anna Thangi’ (2005), Thavarina Siri (2006), ‘Devaru Kotta Thangi’ (2009), and they all became huge hits. I trusted the genre because how long can you do one-man shows? A star must give space for all actors to shine in a film. People must first love the film and then praise its hero.

‘Om’ is one of your landmark films. What was your first impression of Upendra? You had called him Karnataka’s Mani Ratnam…

While we were shooting for ‘Om’, be it because of the style of filmmaking or the type of content, I felt this could be a game changer in the industry. Filmmakers began exploring the idea of reverse screenplay. Also, until ‘Om’, stories were told from the point of view of the hero. I felt there was something in Upendra. He had the ability to impress the family audience and youngsters. With limited facilities, he ensured our film was technically updated to that generation.

The manner in which you handled the massive media attention after the sudden passing away of your brother Puneeth Rajkumar and how you recouped to get back to work was commendable…

The show should go on. That’s what we have learnt from our profession and our parents. We think our loved one will live with us for many years, but life isn’t like that. Sometimes we lose them early. We move on and find more good people, and in them we see our lost ones. It was definitely a shocking incident for the entire family. On the day he passed away, my film ‘Bhajarangi 2’ had released. The film got good responses but understandably, the entire state went into mourning for two-three days. But when theatres opened again, people came to watch the film because of the love they had for Appu. It was very saddening for the entire film fraternity but at the same time, I had to ensure that the industry doesn’t come to a standstill.

Not to forget, the film industry was slowly recovering from the pandemic. If Appu would have been in my place, even he would have done the same thing. But of course, we would let our emotions out during functions that remembered him.

While you have always opposed it, the dubbing movement has taken baby steps in the industry. What is the future of Kannada dubbed films?

People want it and who am I to stop it? It’s difficult to access their taste. Many people on social media ask ‘Why is Shivanna against dubbing?’. Well, I have stated my reason. Now, you say yours. I think people are following a herd and voicing out their opinions while in reality, they are also not watching the dubbed version. People should not get carried away and talk from their hearts. If the same film is done in Kannada, it will benefit 300 people.

What’s your advice for the next generation of actors from the Rajkumar family?

The current generation thinks completely different from ours. They are keen on big films and big directors. I always tell them, keep a low profile. Don’t arrive in a loud manner. With this approach, everybody’s eyes will be on you and if you succeed, you will grow well in the industry. I tell them not to go behind brands, you be the brand. When fame comes to you, don’t say no. Accept it and learn to grow higher.

Upcoming films

‘Vedha’ by A Harsha: Action thriller

‘Ghost’ by Srini: A heist thriller

‘Ashwathama’: An experiment in the mythology genre

‘45’ with Arjun Janya: Touted to be a slice-of-life entertainer

Untitled project with Rishab Shetty: The actor returns to comedy after a long gap.

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(Published 05 August 2022, 18:26 IST)

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