Vishnu Circle draws on Vishnuvardhan lore

This week's Kannada release features Gururaj, Jaggesh's son. He talks about what it means to him

When actor Gururaj Jaggesh first heard the story of 'Vishnu Circle,' he realised he could draw many parallels between the film and his real life.

The story holds relevance to Gururaj's real-life love story and his craze for Vishnuvardhan movies.

Gururaj doesn't like to dumb down the uniqueness of the film by simply calling it a romantic film. He belives there's more to it than just romance between a man and a woman.

"The story takes one through love as it existed in different generations. In the 1960s, a man wouldn't dare to freely ask a woman out or hang out with her as it is done today. The couples were quite shy and a man would have to wait for hours to meet his lady love," Gururaj says.

'Vishnu Circle' lays bare some of the things people do for the sake of love. "How much mental stress can one take to keep one's love from falling apart? Does it pay to get stressed out over love? How love affects one's life and existence forms the subject," says Gururaj.

So what is Gururaj's definition of love in real life? "Before I fell in love, I had different and sometimes fake perceptions about it. I am sure everybody at some point has been through a rough patch in their quest for true love. I didn't know what the definition was until I met my wife. She changed the way I looked at a lot of things," says Gururaj.

The project also gave Gururaj an opportunity to experiment with his looks and costume. "In one scene I sport a salt and pepper look which perfectly fits the settings in Madikeri. I later slip into formal clothes when we switch to an office environment. I enjoyed switching between these two shades," adds Gururaj.

Gururaj's aunt in the film is a huge fan of Vishnuvardhan. "She names me Vishnu and not a weekend passes by without watching us a Vishnuvardhan movie. Every member of the family knows Vishnuvardhan's movies by heart. This craze assumes importance towards the climax."

Gururaj confesses he grew up on a diet of Vishnuvardhan's films. "This also helped me understand and emote," he signs off.