Yesterday I shot in the sun for 12 hours and today another 12 hours. And for the first time for a movie, I have taken off my shirt,” rues Harshvardhan Rane. Is he doing a Salman Khan? “They all have a six-pack and mine is exactly 3.5pack. The director asked me to do some something drastic and I went on a diet, so I have a 3.5 pack now,” he laughs.After Avunu, Harshvardhan did not want to do something that would just increase the number of his films. He wanted to do something that would connect with the audience.
He analyses his journey into movies and says he was never under pressure to work in a certain genre of films. “I don’t come from a film background so I am free to work in any script that interests me. My mom lives in ECIL and I would come here every summer holidays (his parents are separated). After school I started living on my own. After my dad passed away, I didn’t know where to go and eventually decided to hang on here in Hyderabad.”
Wasn’t it frustrating to stay without work all these years after the debacle of Thaita Thakita? He avers, “There is a saying chintan karo chinta math karo….you can think but you shouldn’t worry. I believe that anyone who chooses a path and keeps walking will find a positive result some day. I didn’t want to go with the flow and do any kind of film that came my way and wind up my career swiftly. I signed a three-film deal with Madhura Sreedhar; I know him since Thakita Thakita days.”
Three-film deals usually happen more with female actors, so it sounds good coming from an actor yet to make a place in the industry. “Yes, true… I guess for the first it has happened with an actor here. I’m doing Maya and the second and third will also happen. Maya is absolutely new for the Telugu audience — with Neelakanta’s screenplay I am sure the story would come alive. It is also my fortune that I got to act with Nayantara in Shekhar Kammula’s Anamika, a remake of Kahaani about which I can’t talk much. I played a rock star in Prema Ishq Kadal. I am stronger than yesterday and working harder than yesterday; but don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
