Gurunandan lost 10 kgs in record time to play school boy

When actor Gurunandan decided that his second film

Raju Kannada Medium

would be with the technical team of his first,

First Rank Raju

, he must have thought that the comfort they all shared with each other would make the filming process a breeze. But shooting for this film was anything but easy for the young actor. He has no complaints though. “After all, it’s not often that you get offered roles like this,” he says.
There were many challenging moments during the making of the film, considering that it is set in three distinct locations — Malnad, a foreign island and Bengaluru. “The

Malnad

portion was supposed to be our last schedule, as director Naresh wanted me to lose 10 kgs to look like a school boy. The plan was such that we would finish the Bengaluru and foreign shoots and then give me a break of about two months to get into the right shape. But in matching dates with my co-stars, we were not able to stick to that schedule and it became essential to shoot the Malnad portions while the greenery was still at its best. I had to then lose a lot of weight in minimal time, say, 10-15 days. I ate nothing but boiled vegetables, egg whites and grilled chicken all that time. It was a terrible time, but the result is for all to see onscreen,” says Gurunandan, who almost immediately after had to regain all the lost weight to finish his Bengaluru portions.
Another memorable incident from the making was when his skin peeled off during the foreign schedule. “The entire sequence is set on an island and I was expected to be shirtless and lounge around on the beach, lie on the scorching sand and so on and so forth. Despite generous helpings of sunscreen, I got sunburns and my skin started peeling off. Those who saw pictures of me thought it was clever makeup, but it wasn’t,” says the actor.
Gurunandan adds that he will also not forget his first-ever deep sea diving experience. “There is an underwater shot in the film, for which the team had asked me to train, especially in terms of breathing exercises to be able to hold my breath. I am a fairly good swimmer, so I did a few exercises and headed to the shoot. It was only once we were in the water with an oxygen tank that I realized what was really expected of me. The camera had been set very deep in the water and once I was in position, I was asked to take a deep breath, remove the oxygen mask and act. I panicked and came back to the surface. It took me a while to compose myself, practice breathing exercises and can the shot. It wasn’t easy, but the scene looks good onscreen,” says Gurunandan.
As the film gears up for release, the actor tells us that he would not have passed on the opportunity to work on this film for anything. “A role like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is no way I would have said no to it, despite these hardships,” he signs off.