Actor Vardhan is on cloud nine as underworld film ‘Haftha’, which released on Friday, marks his entry into the Kannada film industry as a lead actor. The artiste, who has been in the industry for more than a decade, has worked in more than 40 films.
Vardhan was first seen in ‘Cheluvina Chittara’ and later on in movies including ‘Rambo 2’, ‘Kotigobba’, ‘Santhu Straight Forward’ and ‘Kariya 2’. He has always played negative roles.
Playing the role of a sharpshooter and a transgender, the actor found the role fulfilling and challenging.
“I have struggled a lot in the industry, and I am very excited about this project. This will be a big turning point in my career. While I have been in the industry for a while, ‘Haftha’ has come as a blessing,” he says.
Vardhan was convinced when director and screenplay writer Prakash Hebbala approached him with the story. “The film was shot in eight months, though most films take a much longer time to be completed,” he says.
Though this is his first lead role, Vardhan isn’t nervous. “I am sure that my experience would help me in performing well. The director also had a clear vision about the film, which helped a lot. Usually I would have fight sequences in the movies; this film helped explore the actor in me.”
Vardhan followed the director’s guidance for the role and did not refer to any other source to get the nuances of the characters right. “I didn’t want a clash of thoughts and trusted Prakash sir with the script.”
Playing a transgender’s role involved many struggles. “Getting the body language of the character right was important,” says Vardhan. He adds that the film aims to give a social message and doesn’t stereotype the transgender character.
“He is represented as a hero here. This is probably one of the few Sandalwood films where the hero is also bad.”
The actor points out that much has changed in the industry in the last decade. “From the style of making to camera work, there has been a significant change in the industry.”
The actor, who hails from Theerthahalli, idolises Dr Rajkumar and wants to be an actor like him.
“I loved the way he worked in each film. He was a versatile actor and has portrayed varied characters on screen, from a police officer to an activist, with ease and finesse,” he says.