Challenging Star Darshan is back on the big screen, this time in the title role Ambareesha, in a film by the same name, in which he is seen taking on the real-estate mafia. Ahead of the film's release, Darshan spoke to us about the film, his co-stars, youngsters in the industry and his friendship with Sudeep. Excerpts from the chat... Tell us about your role in Ambareesha...
I play a daily-wage worker. The film is a commercial entertainer, but it does touch upon issues one faces when dealing with realtors in Bengaluru. While the film is based on real-life instances one reads about or sees daily in the news, I've not done any research for my role. I've based it on what I have seen happening at construction sites in the city.
How do you pick a subject? I don't differentiate between mass and class in my films. I just want a good movie that will entertain everyone from ages 6 to 60. I try and incorporate what my die-hard fans want, as well as what families and the elderly would want to see.
This film shows you as a successor to Ambareesh... I don't really feel I am the successor to Ambareesh. But I am very grateful that he has allowed us to use the title. It is not a normal title. Appaji (as Darshan calls the Rebel Star) has been in the industry for over 40 years and made a name for himself. So, there was that added responsibility on our shoulders. Throughout the filming, my only aim was to ensure that the title Ambareesha didn't taint Appaji's name. This was what I told Chintan (the scriptwriter) when he narrated the script to me.
Is Darshan a rebel? Sometimes I am a rebel, I agree. But not always.
Your film sees you teaming up with scriptwriter Chintan again. What has fuelled your belief in him? There is a reason I like Chintan and prefer to work with him. Audiences today are not very patient and don't have the luxury of time to listen to long-winded sermons. I understood Chintan's pulse when we were working on Navagraha. He had written something very long. I told him that we could not work on that and asked him to sum up the entire script in three lines. In less than an hour, he gave me three lines filled with punch. The audience wants punch dialogues. This is why I've worked with him. Even in Ambareesha we have lines that the audience can pick up easily. They resonate with the masses, who are not looking for logic. The other reason I like to work with a youngster like Chintan is because I am a little old and don't understand newer trends. When young scriptwriters or directors come and tell me that something will click with audiences today, I trust their word.
Tell us about working with Priya Mani... Priya Mani is a very good and talented actress. Compared to me, she is the award-winning actress. You see a tug-of-war between her and me in the film. For instance, in Padayappa, Rajinikanth's character is incomplete without Neelambari (played by Ramya Krishnan). Priya's character in Ambareesha is very similar to Neelambari. She's a rich woman who challenges me.
Rachita Ram says your family and you are her mentors... We are no one to help anyone. She is talented, and hence, she has done well. One can take a horse to the water, but whether or not it drinks water is up to the horse. When we were making Bul Bul, we were searching for a talented actress. There were rumours that Anushka (Shetty) would be the heroine. But we wanted a Kannada girl. We needed someone with free dates since Appaji (Ambareesh) was acting in it, so we didn't want someone who would come with baggage or date restrictions, but could alter dates to suit his convenience to shoot. Rachita was very cooperative in that respect and is a very professional actress in the industry.
