Shivarajkumar: I got carried away with Jayarama’s character

Shivarajkumar's fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Kavacha. The reason? The actor has donned a different role in the film after a long time, that of a blind man. GVR Vasu’s directorial is hitting theatres this Friday, and fans of the Century Star are organising eye donation camps on the day of its release.

Shivanna too is keen to know the audiences’ reaction to his character in his 120^th film, considering that it’s a new kind of a role. “One of my previous films had me playing the role of a blind person, but it was just limited to a couple of scenes. This is the first film where I play a full-fledged character with a visual impairment,” he says, revealing that a film with director Nagathihalli Chandrashaker on the lines of Blind Fury was on the cards, but ultimately didn't work out. 

Kavacha means ‘protection’ and the actor feels that it makes sense as this film's title. “Parents are protective of children, and siblings, spouses all look out for each other. So, it’s a subject that everyone can relate to,” he says.

Shivanna believes in accepting and experimenting with roles without any expectations. The actor gives all credit for this to directors who have tried to portray him in different characters. Citing examples of few directors such as Suri, P Vasu, Ram Gopal Varma, and young director Narthan, he says they have not only placed him in exceptional roles, but also those that are age appropriate.

Even for an actor like Shivrajkumar, who has experimented with different kinds of roles, playing the role of someone with a disability came with a set of challenges. “A coach from the blind school trained me for the role. Getting the right body language, keeping the eyeballs intact and bringing out the right emotions at the same time was a tough task. I now understand the difficulties of the blind. There were times I got carried away with my character, and would behave the same way off-screen. I got into the character and understood the passion, pain and desire to want to make others laugh,” he says.

“Disabled people are not weak in any manner. In the case of any form of disability, there’s always another faculty of that person that is very strong. I have attempted to bring this out in my character. The film is an emotional drama with a strong message too,” he adds.