Exclusive | How Naveen Shankar tapped into his Gurudev Hoysala character Bali's wild spirit

Actor Naveen Shankar is keen on sticking to his penchant for trying out new stuff. If his filmography so far reflects an inclination for the underdog-hero archetype, his upcoming slate of films will tap into a more dogged and fiery side of his persona. First up from this exciting lineup is Gurudev Hoysala, a cop action-drama that stars Daali Dhananjaya in the lead with Naveen playing one of the chief antagonists, Bali. The trailer of the film has presented the unexplored 'ferocious' side of the actor who, aside from moulding himself into a lean and mean physique, also appears to have really gotten under the skin of his character.

'Ferocious' turns out to be the operative word for Naveen Shankar as well who interestingly compares his character Bali's instincts to that of a ferocious dog. "We actually use 'dog' as a metaphor in one of the scenes in the film. There's devotion in this being, there's honesty and integrity, and there's a lot of strength as well. The devotion or loyalty is towards Swami (played by Avinash B.S), the person who has raised him. Whether he is "good" or "bad" in nature, we will find out in the film but it is very certain that he has the strength to own the ground he stands on and conquer any opposition. But beyond everything, Bali is a cold man - very animalistic and is mostly cut off from the world around him. He might be out there in person but a different world exists in him," shares Naveen Shankar in an exclusive chat with OTTplay.

And in order to accentuate his performance and also make the character feel more both real and relatable, Naveen etched out a backstory to Bali that he held as a reference at times. This backstory may not feature in the film's story in terms of scenes or dialogues but the actor says he needed it to put things in perspective.

Gurudev Hoysala also stars Prathap Narayan, Amrutha Iyengar, Aniruddh Bhat, Achyuth Kumar and others with Vijay N. writing and directing the film. KRG Studios' Karthik Gowda and Yogi G. Raj have produced the film with Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films presenting it. Ajaneesh B. Loknath has scored the music for the film which arrives in cinema halls on March 30.