As don 'Daddy', Raghu Dixit's set to take on his gangster rival, Shanvi, in the Kannada film Baang

Last evening, the team of the upcoming Kannada film dark comedy Baang released its first-look teaser, which gave audiences a sneak peek into its world. The teaser came shortly on the heels of the character introduction posters that had been revealed over the past few days. The film marks the acting debut of music man Raghu Dixit, who plays a character called Daddy. Speaking to the media at the teaser launch event, Raghu said, “I have to thank the makers of Baang for recognizing the actor in me. Director Sree Ganesh Parashuram and music director Ritvik Muralidharhave been my friends for a while, so, when they came home to discuss a film, I thought it was for the music or to have me on board as a singer. Instead, when they said that they wanted me to do a full-fledged role, I literally chased them out,” laughs Raghu, adding, “But they kept calling and insisting that I should try my hand at it and somehow convinced me. That’s how I became Daddy in Baang.

The role, adds Raghu, has been widely described as the villain in the tale, but the music man-turned-actor says that the grey shades are on account of Daddy being a don. “He does what is expected of a don. Shanvi Srivastava, as Leona, is my rival in the film. In fact, she is my daughter in the film, but the name of my character is Daddy not just because of my relationship with her, but also because of my standing and seniority in the underworld. In the film I am Shanvi’s dad, but when it comes to acting, she is the mummy,” jokes the debutant.

Watch the teaser of Baang here:

As rivals, Daddy and Leona have a fair share of fights too, which was a first for both actors. “It was a crazily fun experience,” says Raghu, adding, “I have to admit that when I started out as an actor on this film, I was skeptical at first, because I am a musician primarily and I was not sure if I would enjoy the process of being in front of the camera. Over the course of the film’s making, not only did I begin to enjoy it, but by the time we were nearly done, I didn’t want it to finish. In fact, the last two days of shoot involved rain sequences, which were quite tiresome, but when it was all over, I was a little upset. Obviously, people have now begun asking me if I’ve been bitten by the acting bug and I would say that if I get a good role, I would definitely do it. In fact, I was supposed to do one of three lead roles in a film with Rajesh Nataranga and Dattanna, but due to the pandemic, the project didn’t take off. By then, Baang came along and I am now set to debut on the big screen as an actor.”