A social media update landed Yuvaraj his first film

For an engineer, who, as a student bagged a state award for inventing a bike ' a moped designed for children and the physically handicapped ' a career in films definitely seems far-fetched. But Yuvaraj, who makes his Kannada film debut with Asthitva this week, is not surprised. 'Plays, song and dance always fascinated me and, during my college days, I was a regular at all cultural events, which I continued even when I began working as an engineer.I was part of a campus theatre group called Kalaniketan for several years ' an experience that rid me off stage fright. Performing with the troupe instilled a sense of confidence in me, which, I believe, has helped me in my debut,' says the young actor.
But despite Yuvaraj's love for the arts, the actual opportunity to work on a film happened to him quite by chance. 'Back in 2013, I uploaded a picture of myself on my social-networking page sporting a Singham- or Raja Huli-style moustache, which my boss, Vishwa Cariappa, noticed and commented, 'Nice'. This was around the time that he had just produced the Ganesh-starrer Auto Raja and I responded asking if I could be the villain in his next, to which he said, 'Not villain, hero.' I did not read too much into that comment and left it at that. But to my suprise, about three months later, Vishwa called me and said that I would be the hero in his next production,' explains the actor.
The next few months, though, were a real lesson for Yuvaraj. For starters, he was sent for acting lessons under Usha Bhandari for three months, which was followed by a two-month workshop with director Nutan Umesh to get Yuvaraj into the skin of his character in Asthitva. 'The minute Nutan saw me, he asked me to lose weight, as he thought that I was too buff to pull off the role of a common man. Also, once he figured out that I was like most single software professionals, leading a fun, carefree life, the director wanted me to have a lifestyle change. He knew that I was used to driving around in my car and never used public transport, so he insisted that I take the bus to commute. On many occasions he forbade me from shaving my beard and showering regularly, so that I could relate to some of the anguish that my character goes through in the film,' says Yuvaraj. Despite that, the young actor says that he was the one who got screamed at the most by the director. 'Nutan is basically an artist and he has a certain canvas in his mind. If he does not get that, he gets agitated. The challenge for me was that I was doing a dual role in the film, and much of my work depended on facial expressions than lengthy lines. Now, when I look at rushes of the film, I understand why he was so intent on getting me to do better and am proud of what I have been able to achieve,' says Yuvaraj.