Not being known as an action hero works for me in Dhairyam

His is the quintessential story of a small-town boy who made his way up the ranks in the film industry. From a junior artiste to a lead actor and producer,

Krishna Ajai Rao

has had quite the journey — and

dhairyam

(courage) defined each and every moment of it. Much like his filmi journey, his character in Dhairyam, which is produced by Raj Productions, is that of a lover boy who becomes an angry young man. As the film hits screens today, Ajai speaks to us about why he has been waiting for a film like Dhairyam…

From a lover boy in most of your films to an out and out action role in Dhairyam. How hard has this transformation been?
There’s a saying in

Kannada

: “Yuddha kaaladali, shastra abhyasa”, which means that when war is announced, people go for weapon training. I am a black belt in karate and have practiced martial arts since childhood, so, in my case, I was already prepared and have been waiting for war. I was not getting roles that showed my caliber and performance. From

John Jani Janardhan

, I started looking at different scripts and characters. I was longing for a role like the one in Dhairyam. I feel satisfied when I do action sequences — I think that I am born for that. By destiny, since Excuse Me, I have been getting soft characters, but I am not like that in real life.

But you come across as a very gentle person…
Yes, I am gentle, but also courageous. I am a lot like Lord Krishna — I play the flute, but when it’s war time, I take out my sudarshana chakra. I am very short tempered — my family, friends and the people I have worked have seen this up close. That’s why I am a reserved person.



You share screen space with P Ravi Shankar, who has a commanding presence. Was it challenging to hold your own beside him?
Definitely. It is a great challenge to face Ravi Shankar, since his onscreen presence and image is something else. But the difference in our personalities works for Dhairyam. It’s like a cat and mouse fight between our characters, with a lot of mind games. If I had already been established as an action hero, then the film would become very predictable, since you know that the hero will win. But in my case, there is curiosity, since I seem like a very innocent, regular, boy-next-door. I look tiny in front of Ravi Shankar, so people will wonder if my character will be able to beat him up or not. That will keep audiences on the edge of their seats till the end of the film. Whether the film has a tragic end or if my character actually hits back — both these outcomes are believable.

If you had to give audiences reasons to watch your film today, what will it be?
My image transformation will be a treat for audiences. You will get to see me transform from a lover boy to an angry young man through the course of this film. Ravi Shankar’s character is unique and our scenes together are interesting; there’s a constant tug-of-war and mind games played between us, which piques the audience’s curiosity. The climax is thrilling, with many chases and stunts. Usually, people whistle during the introduction, but in Dhairyam, I am sure that they will whistle during the climax. Apart from that, the making style is something to look out for. We have used drones to get certain shots. We are used to being stuck in traffic on Bengaluru roads, and don’t know how the city looks from above. So, the elevated shots in this film are a visual treat.