Exclusive! Bachelor Party actor Diganth – This is exactly how I envisioned my life would be at 40

The new year is off to a good start for Kannada actor Diganth – he’s got 3-4 films lined up for release, starting with next week’s Bachelor Party, each of which gives him a unique opportunity in terms of role and performance. The last one year has been good not only on the work front, but health wise too, adds Diganth; he’s not had an injury in a while. “It’s exactly how I envisioned my life would be at 40,” says the actor, who turned 40 only weeks ago, in a quick tete-a-tete with OTTplay.

It's been a while since Diganth has had such an exciting phase in his career. “This year is great in terms of good movies for me. After Gaalipata 2, there’s been a marked change; a lot of people liked my character in the film and I started getting offers in the comedy genre, of which I liked Bachelor Party and Powder (KRG Studios’ production in association with The Viral Fever). Good things are happening again,” says the actor, who’s also got the thriller comedy Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana and the court room drama The Judgement coming up shortly. Comedy, though, is not new to Diganth; he’s done his fair share in Gaalipata and Pancharangi too. What went wrong in between then? “I guess the right movies did not come my way. I could not keep waiting for a comedy film and not venture into other genres,” reasons the actor, adding, “Back in the day, I had a lot of bills to be cleared and I could not sit and wait for the right films to come my way. Yes, I have made mistakes, but now, I am debt free and I can take my own time to select scripts and, hopefully, make the right decisions. I am clear in the head as to what to do next.”

Bachelor Party trailer – Diganth and Yogi lead The Hangover-style rib-tickler 

Bachelor Party, directed by debutante Abhijit Mahesh, comes with a certain expectation, on account of the subject and genre. But it has also sparked comparisons with the Hollywood hit, The Hangover. “It’s okay for audiences to feel that way, but if they think the film is funny based on what they saw in the trailer, please do watch it in theatres. Having said that, apart from the basic crux that it is about a bachelor party happening somewhere, there’s no similarity to The Hangover,” says Diganth. In the trailer, the actor is seen sporting a cast on his leg; did he shoot those portions back when he had an actual injury? “Yeah, I had shot the Thailand schedule with a cast and by the time we shot the Warning song, I had recovered, but had to have the cast on again. It so turned out that the schedule was planned and I got injured. Our cinematographer, Aravind Kashyap (of Kantara, 777 Charlie and Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare fame) is a star DOP now and, hence, super busy these days, while Yogi also has other projects to work on, and Abhijit thought the whole schedule would be in jeopardy. That’s when I suggested that I shoot the film with the cast on, for which all we had to do is explain how he gets hurt. He was okay with the idea, provided I was comfortable. I did the entire schedule on crutches, which was hard because I was still nursing an injury and Thailand was hot and humid. I was sweating profusely inside the cast, which got very itchy,” says Diganth.

Bachelor Party director Abhijit Mahesh is the master of wisecracks, says Diganth 

This is Diganth’s first film with Yogi, although they’ve known each other for 15-16 years. “We’d had offers to work together earlier, but it just never panned out. This also happened only because Rishab Shetty had to excuse himself after the success of Kantara. Those who have seen the film within the Paramvah Studios team have said that it is Yogi and my combination that makes Bachelor Party funny. I’d add that Achyuth anna is also a major reason – he’s hilarious in the film,” says the actor.

Up next, Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana will release a month or month-and-a-half after Bachelor Party. “Only one schedule of Powder is done so far, and the second is being planned. There is a lot of VFX work involved in that film, which could take some time. We will probably look at sometime in June-July for Powder’s release. The team of The Judgement is looking for a good date to release, while also ensuring it does not clash with any of my films or that of Ravichandran sir. In terms of upcoming films, I have Uttarakaanda with Dhananjaya in the lead, which will be a two-part venture. It’s a gangster film, in which I play the second lead. My look in the film will be something to look forward to,” he signs off.

Diganth: If I could go back in time and change something it would be the injury to my eye