There has been speculation that Dhruva Sarja may take a while before shooting for his next film Pogaru, directed by Nanda Kishore. The actor, talking to CE, puts all the rumours to rest.

Dhruva, who is on a dream run playing much-loved characters, says that he has been preparing for his role in Pogaru over the last 60 days. “I was not wasting my time, but have been busy getting into shape, to play an eighth standard boy in the movie,” he says. Pogaru traces the story of a person through his school and college days and in his mid 20s.

It was Nanda Kishore’s persistence and encouragement that convinced Dhruva to take on this challenge. “People assumed that I was taking time out after Bharjari’s success, but I have been working on losing 30 kilos in 60 days. It is tough to live on cabbages, carrot and cucumbers, but at the end of the day, I am doing this for the role. I was 95 kg and I am 69 kg now. I lost 26 kilos and have to lose 4 more,” says Dhruva.

The actor says that whenever director Nanda Kishore feels that the actor looks the part of a school boy, the shoot for the movie will begin. Before that though, the actor will get a small makeover. “Nanda gave me examples of actors such as Aamir Khan, Suriya and Dhanush, who made drastic changes to fit into a role and he was confident that I would do justice to Pogaru. Even I am looking forward to wearing a school uniform,” he says.

Pogaru, produced by Gangadhar, may have Rashmika Mandaana and Shanvi Srivastava playing two female leads.