Exclusive! Bharath Bopanna: Playing an undercover RAW agent is intense

When OTTplay called Bharath Bopanna he was in the middle of shooting the climax for his first Kannada web series, an as-yet-untitled project directed by Amar Gowda and Dayanand. “After my stint on the TV show Brahmagantu, I had taken a conscious decision to focus on cinema and did my debut, Demo Piece. So, when the offer for this show came along, I was sceptical at first, but once I realised that they were treating it just like a movie, in terms of the making style, etc., I was impressed. We have already shot for about 80% of the show in locations across Bengaluru, Sakleshpur and Mangaluru, with the final schedule currently on,” he says.

Bharath adds, “This show is an eight-part fictional account of an investigation surrounding a bomb blast in Bengaluru. My character, Bharat, is an undercover RAW agent, who poses as a gym instructor. I am paired with Sindhu Loknath in this thriller, the narrative of which focuses on the investigation into the blast and finding the people responsible for it. Getting into the skin of the character is quite intense. Although it is not based on true events, the makers are trying to make it look as realistic as possible. In fact, director Amar had earlier made a Kannada film called ATM, which was inspired by the real-life attack of a woman at an ATM in Bengaluru.”

While the makers are still finalizing a title, Bharath says that the show is being made for an upcoming Kannada OTT platform, with formal announcements likely to be made shortly. “I have at least 3-4 days’ worth of shoot left to finish this, after which I will dedicate my time to new projects. I am in discussion for a few Kannada films and should be able to make an announcement soon," he says. Meanwhile, the Hindi music video that Bharath shot for recently, Tu Jo Mila, is scheduled to be out this week.