Exclusive: Here's why team Narappa was awed by Karthik Rathnam's dedication on the sets

Karthik Rathnam has been growing from strength to strength as an actor with every outing ever since his debut film C/O Kancharapalem hit theatres. The web show Gods of Dharmapuri asserted his versatility as a performer, where he got into the skin of a wild role effortlessly. While he was impressive in his brief performance in Check, his direct-to-OTT release Ardha Shatabdham proved that the youngster had it in him to also shoulder lead roles confidently. Now, with Narappa, where he played a brief role Munikanna, a hot-blooded youngster who pays a heavy price for his temper, he impressed one and all with his terrific screen presence. 

A source from the film's unit tells us, "Many popular actors came forward to do the role of Narappa's elder son in the movie, but once we did a screen test of Karthik Rathnam, we were sure that we found our man and had no second thoughts about the casting. The role had certain requirements considering that he needed to look like a guy from a marginalised community in a rustic setting and we couldn't have asked for a better choice than him. He pushed himself hard for the role." 

Sharing an instance from the making that proves his commitment to the role, the source adds, "We were awed by his dedication on sets. In the scene where his parents find his body lying naked in the field headless, they had used a 'dummy' in the original, Asuran. It generally takes about 10-days to create something on those lines. However, we couldn't manage that due to the paucity of time during the Narappa shoot. We had to cover his face with a green mat. He was game to shoot the scene in his undies with his head and face covered under the scorching sun for over three hours. Tell me how many actors would do that?"

The youngster is certainly deserving of all the appreciation coming his way after Narappa and his success is proof that actors with burning passion and talent will always get their due. Karthik Ratnam is yet to divulge any information about his upcoming projects.