'Ishaan' is a star in the making, I’m proud to be launching him with Rogue

From the tagline of 'Rogue' — 'Maro Chantigadi Prema Katha' — it is pretty obvious Puri Jagannadh is referring to the irreverent Chanti from his 2002 blockbuster, 'Idiot'. While the Chanti that Ishaan is playing has “nothing in common” with the irrepressible namesake that catapulted Ravi Teja to superstardom,
director Puri believes Rogue will have the same effect on Ishaan’s BO standing as Idiot had on Ravi Teja’s career.“Ishaan is a very good looking Telugu boy. Everyone appreciated his performance after seeing the rushes of the film. He is a star in the making; I’m proud to be launching him,” says Puri adding, “Unlike the brash Chanti in Idiot who would
go around referring to himself as ‘Chantigadu’, Ishaan plays a much more serious and brooding Chanti. The tag line was used just for the recall value.”
Admittedly, in his very first meeting with Ishaan, the director was convinced of his acting potential. “Manohar garu (Ishaan’s elder brother who is a Kannada film producer) recommended that I take a look at Ishaan. He hadn’t acted even in a short film until then, but as soon as I saw him, I knew he had all the makings of a star,” recalls Puri, who was instrumental in making Ishaan screen-ready.
“My heroes always look stylish and it’s no different with Ishaan. We got him to colour his hair and grow a beard. After a very impressive audition, I sent him to Bangkok for Muay Thai training to build up his body. Simultaneously, I also got him to get over his screen fright with dubsmash videos; one challenging dialogue every day,” explains Puri. Elaborating on his penchant for working with newcomers Puri says, “Be it technicians or actors, I’ve gotten used to bringing in new talent. Even the cinematographer Mukesh was brought in after doing many auditions. Anoop Singh Thakur, who plays the villain, is actually a very good
actor and he too is a new find. Newcomers have an extra ounce of energy because they get few chances to prove themselves.”