Jayaram: My debut in Sandalwood is happening a little late

The actor recently joined the sets of his first Kannada film, Ghost, and will be sharing screen space with Shivarajkumar
Jayaram: My debut in Sandalwood is happening a little late

Actor Jayaram, who mainly worked in Malayalam cinema, has also made a mark in Tamil and Telugu. However, a stint in Kannada cinema always eluded him, but it is finally happening with the Shivarajkumar-starrer Ghost. Directed by Srini, the heist thriller, made under the Sandesh Production banner, is currently on floors, and actor Jayaram joined the film's sets a couple of days ago.

"Shivarajkumar and I have known each other for a long time now. Being brand ambassadors of the same jewellery company, we would meet every year. We often discussed cinema. Incidentally, it was in 2019 that Shivanna asked if I was interested in working in Kannada cinema. I was more than happy and didn't mind playing a guest role too. However, Shivanna insisted that if I'm making my Sandalwood debut, it should be with a prominent role. Finally, it got realised six months ago with Srini's Ghost," explains Jayaram.

Two days into the shoot, Jayaram shares that he is enjoying the atmosphere, and the role of a special police officer, he is playing, "I'm making sure that I'm perfect with the language, and I pronounce the Kannada words correctly. I will also be dubbing for the film," says Jayaram, who will complete his first schedule in Bengaluru, and will next head to Mysuru for the second schedule. "The people of Karnataka are happy with my debut, and I'm receiving a lot of love, especially from Shivanna fans, who have been dropping 'Thank you' messages."

Recalling his "soul connection" with Karnataka, Jayaram goes back to 1987-88 when he started his career as an actor. "It was the beginning days of my acting career. Those days, we did mostly small-budget films, and still, we would have 4 to 5 songs. So if any song needs to be portrayed with richness, our dream destination would always be the Brindavan Gardens in Mysuru. If the film sequence needed something more spectacular, we added the water fountain. I remember how much I would request the producer that my song should have fountains in the background," chuckles Jayaram, as he also shares his long-lasting attachment to Bengaluru. "When I was studying SSLC, our school had an excursion to Bangalore. Brigade Road was one of the main highlights of the city, where I would often go shopping. Today, the infrastructure of the city has changed, but it has not lost its charm. Bengaluru is still a beautiful city."

That's not all, Jayaram, who is also a nature lover, and is passionate about wildlife, would often visit Bannerghatta, Nagarahole, Bandipur, and Kabini. In fact, he still enjoys going to all these places every year. "I have a lot of connections to this city, and the state. Just that my debut in Sandalwood happened a little late," he signs off.

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