Dhananjaya: I am focused on catering to family audiences with films like Once Upon in a Time in Jamaligudda

Daali Dhananjaya has never shied away from playing eccentric, off-beat characters. Be it as the mystic-saint Allama Prabhu in T.S. Nagabharana's Allama, as Daali in Suri's cult hit Tagaru, or as Jolly Reddy in the pan-Indian blockbuster Pushpa, Dhananjaya's filmography is as eclectic as it can get. And as another vibrant addition to this list, he will soon be seen playing the congenial, afro-haired 'Hiroshima' in Kushal Gowda's Once Upon a Time in Jamaligudda, a slice-of-life drama that features an ensemble cast including Aditi Prabhudeva, Bhavana Ramanna, Yash Shetty, Prakash Belawadi, and others.

"Fans have seen me as Shankar in Badava Rascal, as Daali, Monkey Seena, Mittai Soori, and so many more. My desire as an actor has always been to play as many diverse roles as possible and I have strived hard for that - one such diverse character is that of Hiroshima in Once Upon a Time in Jamaligudda. I have repeatedly mentioned in my interviews that this film has received a 'U' censor certificate and the reason is that fans mostly get to see me often in 'A' certificate films like Head Bush and the likes but Jamaligudda can be enjoyed together by an entire family, without worrying about the content."

"Films like Rathnan Prapancha and Badava Rascal have taken me closer to the family audience and I take that aspect as a big responsibility. And I have to fulfil that responsibility in the future because I want to see families coming together to watch my films. I am focusing a lot on making that happen," said Dhananjaya at a recent public event.

Dhananjaya has also shared previously that he was juggling between the Pushpa: The Rise and Once Upon in a Time in Jamaligudda shooting schedules at the time and that he hadn't given his nod to star in the latter until Kushal Gowda convinced him to do so. "I could not say no to Kushal because he kept following up with me but more than anything else, I was drawn to the storyline, the unique world he has conceived. Even my look, including the attire, the hairdo, all of it, has been fully imagined by Kushal," he says.