Exclusive! I want to see how Salaar benefits my career, says Pramod

Pramod has begun the new year on a good note. His role in Salaar: Ceasefire, in which he played Prithviraj Sukumaran’s brother, Baachi Raja Mannar, was widely appreciated. “I had a meaty role and got the opportunity to work with big stars like Prabhas and Prithviraj in a film of such a massive scale directed by Prashant Neel – that’s an experience of a lifetime that I can never forget. I was offered the role after Prashant sir saw me in Rathnan Prapancha; it would be exciting to see the kind of offers that come to me after Salaar. I am expecting offers from big production houses, but my focus right now is to establish myself as a saleable actor in Kannada cinema. I also need to figure out whether to still do supporting roles in other language industries or if I should only take up protagonist characters,” he says adding, “Having done a film like Salaar, I am not keen on being a part of such a big production again. I did this to see how it will help me further my career.”

In Kannada, meanwhile, Pramod has a few films lined up that he’s quite excited about. For instance, today, on his birthday, the makers of his earlier film Premier Padmini announced a new, as-yet-untitled project with him in the lead, which he has already begun shooting for. Directed by Ramesh Indira, whom most audiences will now know as Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’s Soma, the film, according to Pramod, will be his biggest to date, in terms of scale and is very different in terms of content and the role that he has.

Pramod: After Salaar, I was offered an antagonist role that I turned down 

“I will be working on this Shruti Naidu production in January and new signings will be announced only thereafter,” he says, adding that he’s finished a film called Bhuvanam Gaganam, which might release by the end of February. What about Alankara Vidyarthi? “It was stalled midway for some reason and the team now wants to revive it, which has put me in a bit of a dilemma. I am not sure if I want to revisit a character like that, but if they insist, I will ensure that the film gets completed,” he says.

Exclusive! Pramod: English Manja is strictly for fans of hardcore commercial cinema 

So, what’s the dream? “To become a superstar, of course. But more importantly, to have a career graph that boasts a wide variety of characters. For instance, just because I had a good role in Rathnan Prapancha, I will not do another one like that. As a leading man, I do not want to do run-of-the-mills characters. At least, in my next 6-7 films, I want to show audiences my range as an actor; people should talk about me as an artiste who does not repeat himself and is capable of such a wide range. Honestly, in recent times, the scripts that have come to me are like that – filmmakers are writing fresh stories and roles keeping me in mind,” he says.