‘I was lost in Baramanna’s character for a year’

For almost a year-and-a-half, Rajavardan lived and behaved like a warrior for Bichhugathii Chapter 1 – Dalavayi Dange. He is still in the process of getting out of the 16th-century character of Baramanna Nayaka. Having worked on a historical subject right in his second film, the actor says, “The time given to me to undergo a transformation for the character is the time I am taking to get back to being normal.”

Rajavardan committed himself to this film, directed by Hari Santhosh, in February 2018, while the shooting began only in December. “The gap between signing the project and the shoot was given only to prepare for the character. Apart from learning horse riding, kalaripayattu and wrestling, I read books on how warriors of different times behaved. I studied about their personalities, postures, hairstyles, behaviours, and, most importantly, the Kannada diction. By the time I went on the sets, I was mentally shaped like a warrior, also in terms of personality.”

Rajavardan also went through weight change to own a wrestler’s body and is happy that the impact was reflected in the posters. However, reducing the body weight has taken time, says Rajavardan. “I behaved like a king for a year, and even behaved like one at home. For a long time, I was lost in being Baramanna,” he says.

Bichhugathii is based on a novel written by BL Venu, and the film is now in post-production. The film’s teaser will be out soon. In the meantime, Rajavardan says he is reading a few scripts, and that he has been offered a historical film along with some commercial ones. “Now that I have a hangover of a historical character, the second one might get easy. I am looking to be a part of a good film, preferably, an action-oriented one, which I believe is my forte,” he says.