My character in Thayige Thakka Maga is a reflection of who I used to be years ago

With no prior filmi connections,

Krishna Ajai Rao

is grateful to not only have found a foothold in the industry, but also about how far he has come. And with this week’s release,

Thayige Thakka Maga

, he hits a milestone — 25th film as hero. But what makes it extra special is that the Shashank directorial, Ajai’s third with the filmmaker, transitions him from the cute

loverboy

to an angry young man

action hero

.

“When Shashank and I discussed doing another movie, we didn’t know it would be a milestone project for me. The image that I have in Thayige Thakka Maga is something that I wanted when I started my career. I had always dreamt of being an action hero. I am a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan and Bruce Lee, and wanted to emulate them onscreen. But destiny had other plans and I was introduced as a soft-spoken, cute hero. I had a rugged look for Excuse Me, but Prem changed my look. That is where my image got set and people thought that I was apt to play only such roles. My dream is now getting fulfilled with my 25th film,” says Ajai.

When Shashank narrated the script, Ajai’s joy knew no bounds. “I was excited. Shashank has known me for a while and wanted to use my martial arts skills. He wrote this script for me, to give me the change I was looking for. A bonus is that the story is inspired in parts by my close relationship with my mother. Shashank has modelled the onscreen mother-son relationship on me and my mother, albeit with cinematic liberties,” adds the actor.

Getting into character meant that Ajai had to change his body language and mannerisms. “Honestly, this character is a reflection of who I used to be years ago, a persona that I buried with the roles I have been doing. It would not be wrong to say that I was a righteous angry young man and some of my close friends who heard about my role in Thayige Thakka Maga have been saying that it would be good to see the real me onscreen. To make people believe that I can fit into a role like this, I had to change my appearance also, but without going overboard. As the son of a righteous lawyer, my character had to be neat as well,” says Ajai, adding that he believes that the film will be a turning point in his career, with the audience and people in the industry seeing him in an action avatar.