True to form

Having earned critics’ praise and surprising audience with his latest act, Sharwanand is happy to have stuck to his convictions.

December 28, 2014 05:02 pm | Updated 05:15 pm IST

Sharwanand and Nithya Menen in a Tamil-Telugu bi-lingual. Photo: special arrangement

Sharwanand and Nithya Menen in a Tamil-Telugu bi-lingual. Photo: special arrangement

If he were to look back at his profile, Sharwanand would be extremely happy and proud with the choice of his subjects. Even the films that failed at the box office had admirable content save for one or two, but the actor couldn’t get mileage from them just because there wasn’t one big commercial hit. Yet overall, today he is in a happy place; people know that if Sharwanand is part of a film, there will be something unique about the story and that he won’t disappoint.

He agrees, “I have never done one film immediately after another in these 11 years, there is usually a long gap and that is because I don’t sign till I am completely happy with the script. When a film fails, I do a lot of introspection, whether something went missing or why people didn’t relate to it etc and make sure I don’t repeat that again. I must add that I always do a medium or a reasonably good budget film but never go over the top.”

Why didn’t the actor sign a mass movie in the initial stages of his career especially after Prasthanam fetched him instant recognition? He analyses, “There is a lot of difference between my films and the films that star kids do. They come with huge expectations from their fans and crowd, so they need those song and fight scenes and a lot hype, hungama. Their stories are different and so are mine.” He adds, “Right from the beginning I made an effort to be known for working in author-backed roles, a strong story oriented cinema..be it Prasthanam, Gamyam, Journey, Amma Cheppindi ...all came to me when I was waiting for it. Song and dance cinema cheyyataniki chala mandhi unnaruga (There are so many people to do song and dances isn’t it)? Why me?”

Sharwanand has no problem revealing that the first six films of his career came as God’s grace and he needed them to be spotted by the public, even if it meant a small role as a hero’s friend in Gowri . “Getting offers in Shankardada MBBS, Lakshmi, Vennela etc was a great thing, I couldn't have asked for more at that stage. I wanted to learn something from each director and offer I got. If not for those films, I wouldn’t have been recognised by the public. But I had decided that once I start working as a solo hero, the subjects will be carefully picked and so came Amma Cheppindi and Gamyam . In the process some failed but I am still learning something every day,” he says.

Run Raja Run came at a time when he needed to do something absolutely fresh. Director Sujeeth changed his look, body language and character completely in the film and the audience was completely surprised at the whole new Sharwanand. “My character was whacky, cool and I always wanted to do something hyper. Because of my earlier work, directors approached me with the same kind of serious roles but with Run Raja Run I wanted to tell the directors that I am capable of pulling off anything.”

The Tamil movie Engeyum Eppudhum (Journey in Telugu ) came as a game changer, Sharwanand had gone to producer Murugadoss and asked for the role when he heard the script. A hero had already been selected but couldn’t do it as he had problems with dates; Sharwanand grabbed the opportunity and the rest was history. His friends had dissuaded him from doing it since he was already getting solo hero offers. But Sharwanand went by his gut feeling; and today he is reckoned as an actor with mettle.

Despite an unsuccessful attempt at production with Ko Ante Koti, he insists the film helped him to evolve as an actor and as a person . “I learnt what a huge loss a producer goes through when his film fails and that I am not too good at multi-tasking. Next time I produce a film, I won’t act. At that stage, I was also doing a Tamil film and didn’t have time for my film,” he reveals.

Doing two films with Nitya Menen — Emito Ee Maya and Mallimalli Idhirani Roju is sheer coincidence; directors are coming to them with similar subjects and requests for their combination. He signs off, “They think we gel well but to be honest she is a new age Savitri. If your colleague is a good actor, you don’t need to act, you have to just go by the flow. I am aware there is a different generation for my films and I have to update myself for this fresh audience.”

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