It is raining roles
FIROZ ROZINDAR
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Flooded with film offers after Mungaaru Maley, actor Ganesh is being picky with scripts. One thing is clear though: he doesn’t want to be a larger-than-life figure on screen
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GETTING REAL Ganesh: ‘I think the story is the real hero of the film, therefore I mull over the script before signing it’
Riding high on the success of “Mungaaru Maley”, the newfound hero of Kannada films, Ganesh, has his hands full with offers. Even before the deluge of “Mungaaru Maley” on the audiences stops, the candid actor has been showered
with enough offers to keep him constantly before the camera.
Tied up with three of his forthcoming films “Krishna”, “Gaalipata” and another untitled film, Ganesh takes time off to disclose various facets of his new-found stardom.
Having acted in not-so-popular films in cameos in the beginning of his career, the actor took giant leap of success with “Mungaaru Maley” to reach the acme of stardom. Not allowing his fame to let him become vainglorious, the humble actor vehemently wishes to portray a “people’s character”.
“I don’t like to be projected in films as a character that is larger than life. After watching my film, I want people to relate to me as one among them,” he says.
With bagful of films, and producers hunting to get dates from Ganesh, he says that he never expected his winning horse to smash all records of the Kannada film industry, setting the box office on fire. “Though the film has brought me recognition beyond my expectations, I feel that success has acted in dual manner. ‘Mungaaru Maley’ came as blessing, and at the same time it acted as curse,” he says. The success of any film beyond the norm results in great expectations from the film industry and the public at large, he explains. “People inevitably compare the actor’s hit film with every new film. This makes the job of an actor, especially choosing the script, immensely tough, since the fear of not meeting the peoples’ expectations always looms large on your mind”.
But why is he signing up such a torrent of films while “Mungaaru…” is still bringing packed audiences into theatres? The boyish-looking actor points out that he waited till the film’s silver jubilee before signing any new film. “Moreover, it is the matter of my survival also. I cannot wait till ‘Mungaaru Maley’ fully goes off the screen.
Besides, the producers wanted the new films to be released early…perhaps they wanted to encash upon the success of this one.”
However Ganesh believes that for an actor, there should be a gap of at least 45 days between the release of one film and another. “Actors should give people time to miss them and anxiously wait for their next release,” he smiles, explaining his strategy. He believes that a few films might become hits by the virtue of his fame, but eventually the story plays a decisive role. “I think the story is the real hero of the film, therefore I mull over the script before signing it.”
The soft-spoken protagonist says he does not fit into role of a violent hero who always brandishes a blood-thirsty knife to take revenge against his enemies. “Indeed, to meet some commercial criteria, violence is important. But there should not be unnecessary bloodshed. I want my films to be family entertainers, not a craze among a small section of society.”
So who is he competing with in the Kannada film industry? Ganesh replies in a humorous yet determined tone that he is nowhere in the race. “I am only competing with myself. I want to carve a niche in my own way, so I have no rival to compete with.” Despite this, Ganesh says he has huge expectations from his forthcoming film “Gaalipata”, again directed by Yograj Bhat after “Mungaaru Maley”. “We are trying to keep up with the pace of ‘Mungaaru Maley’, but finally it is the audience who decide the fate of any film.”
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