Numbers matter to me. I want to be a star

He is a fun and chilled-out guy, but when it comes to his career, Suraj Gowda is clear about the path ahead and how he wants to get there. At a time when most actors say that they are not concerned about box-office figures, comes a refreshing admission by Suraj. As he gears up for the release of his next,

Siliconn City

— a film that he is confident will do well — Suraj says pointblank that he’s here to be a

star

, and that numbers do matter to him. Here’s more from him…

Do you play a criminal in Siliconn City?
I play Karthik, a 19-year-old college boy. In lower middle-class families, a lot of emphasis is placed on education. So, families take loans and do whatever it is to ensure that their kids get into good colleges. My character comes from such a family and when he goes to college, he finds himself among rich kids, and gets influenced by their lifestyle. He wants to own good things like they do, such as cars and fancy mobile phones. In his quest to do so, he picks the wrong path.

Like your previous film

Kahi

, this film also looks very intense. Was that a conscious decision?
I wanted to play tougher roles, but I couldn’t transform from what

Maduveya Mamatheya Kareyole

(in which he played a lover boy) had done for me. So, I couldn’t transform completely from an innocent boy to a rough guy. This film sees me in two shades — a good boy who transforms into a bad guy. This was a big reason why I chose it. Now, if I seek rough characters, it makes sense, because people would have seen my transformation in this film. Doing it directly wouldn’t have made sense.



Is it hard for you to disconnect from your character?
It depends on how you perceive acting. Method actors are very serious before the shoot begins, but for me, it’s all about reproducing either what I have felt or seen. I enjoyed this movie as an actor, because I could explore myself a lot. I realized that the more comfortable you feel on the set, the better

actor

you can be. You can’t give your best under pressure.

What else has this movie taught you?
To be a chain snatcher (laughs). After a while, my character becomes a chain snatcher. There were 20 shots of chain snatching, of which, I got 19 right in the first take. I actually snatched a chain when the bike was moving at a good speed. At one point, there was a Sub-Inspector on the set. After seeing me in action, he told me that the next time there is an incident of chain snatching in JP Nagar, he will come to my house first (laughs).

Apart from acting in them, do you enjoy watching intense films?
Frankly, when it comes to South Indian movies, those that are high on action are the ones that make it big at the box office; few movies that run on romance do extremely well. Numbers matter to me. I did not come here to be an actor — there are a lot of actors in this industry, but I came here to be a star. And you become a star by having good box-office collections. I won’t be able to get that being a chocolate boy, doing non-prominent roles.