Despite being producer K Manju’s son, Shreyas Manju admits having struggles in establishing his career. “While a star’s son usually gets a fan following, that is not the case for children of producers. It isn’t always a cakewalk. There is an assumption that we enter the industry as a show-off. But it is not the truth. I’m here purely on passion, and I want to prove it with my own talent,” says the actor.

Shreyas, who made his debut with Paddehuli, is back on the big screen after three years with Raana. “In fact, I had completed shooting for Vishnu Priya much before Raana. However, we decided to release Raana first,” he says.

The actor shares that producer Gujjal Purushotham saw his performance in Vishnu Priya and offered him the Nanda Kishore directorial, which is set to release this week.

In Raana, Shreyas Manju plays an aspiring police officer, and the actor describes it as a commercial entertainer, which not only is a good thriller but also has realistic action sequences, “Despite being trained in various forms of fights, I still underwent a short training and got specialised for the stunt episodes. It is one of the highlights of the film,” says Shreyas, who will have two shades to his role.

With Reeshma Nanaiah playing the lead, Raana has Kirik Party actor Samyuktha Hegde appearing in a special song. With Shekar Chandru handling the cinematography, Raana has music composed by Chandan Shetty.