PremiumDheeren on dropping his surname for next: There’s something in the story that we’ve played on
He recently adoped the name Dheeren R Rajkumar, as a tribute to both his father and grandfather, but his next, produced by Shivarajkumar, will not feature either name
Last Updated: 11.07 PM, Dec 07, 2024
At the start of his acting career, Dheeren Ramkumar had said that despite the lineage he hails from – as matinee idol Dr Rajkumar’s grandson and actor Ramkumar’s son – he wanted audiences to look beyond these connections and see him for who he is. And yet, before even his second film, he went ahead and embraced that very identity by adding Rajkumar to his name. He’s now Dheeren R Rajkumar.
“That happened after KRG Studios announced a film with me. We’d gone on a few temple visits, where several priests and swamijis suggested that adding my grandfather’s name would be good for me. The film was to be called Dheerra, so we thought that changing my name to Dheeren R Rajkumar, would be apt. I have not dropped my father’s name in favour of adding Rajkumar,” says the actor, speaking to OTTplay.
And yet, for his next, which will now become his second film officially, the official poster only carries his given name. “You will realize why I am going only with Dheeren for this film when you see it. Mama (Shivarajkumar, who is producing the film), heard the story and suggested that we not use either name while announcing the collaboration. There is something in the story that we have played upon,” he says, adding, “It also ties in with my ideology of having audiences see me as Dheeren and nothing else.”
The as-yet-untitled film is being directed by Sandeep Sunkad, who rose to fame with his directorial debut Shakhahaari, which is widely considered one of the best Kannada films of 2024. It will likely go on floors in February 2025, after Shivarajkumar returns from the US, with the team aiming for a 2025 theatrical outing as well.
The film is a crime thriller and while the script is still being fine-tuned, Dheeren says that there will not be any build up or unnecessary elevation for him in the film. “There won’t even be mass dialogues or anything about my lineage. The movie will be content and character driven, much like what, say, a Rajkummar Rao or Ayushmann Khurrana, would do,” says the actor, adding this is also why Shivarajkumar came on board as producer. “He loved the subject and almost immediately said we ought to collaborate,” says Dheeren.