Exclusive! 'I'm a very big opportunist when it comes to films': Kranti star Darshan Thoogudeepa

By his own admission, Challenging Star Darshan doesn't believe in planning too much in advance. Having spent more than 25 years in the Kannada Film Industry as a leading man, Darshan believes that his approach to acting has gotten simpler to a great extent and that his priorities are set straight. Today, as a reigning superstar, the DBoss does not seek out roles that have 'artistic merit' because he says, he doesn't believe in sitting around and waiting for great roles to come his way. Instead, he is only keen on ensuring that a project he signs on meets a few of his main parameters.

"My approach has always been the same: Date, Rate, and then Everything Else. This means that my availability for a project plays a huge role and my remuneration is the next big factor: when I know that I won't be doing a particular film, I don't see the point in spending a couple of hours on a script narration. My main interaction is always with producers because the idea, for me as an actor, is to ensure that their investments are returned - they, too, are here to make money and I need to respect that," says Darshan.

But does being overly pragmatic diminish his desire to play great roles on screen? The answer is a firm NO and the reason Darshan offers is that his career, when looked at closely, was never designed but is actually a result of him being clear and practical about the opportunities.

"I don't dream as an actor that a great character or role will come my way - I did not know during Majestic that I will do a film like Namma Preethiya Ramu or play Sangolli Rayanna on the screen. Sangolli Rayanna was offered to a different hero at one point and I had even expressed my desire to play the character to that actor but since he had planned on making a big return with that film, I had no problems with it. But in a span of six months, the same script (Sangolli Rayanna) came back to me. Kurukshetra, too, happened in similar ways. The project was brought to me during the Anantharu days when Mr. Muni (the director of the film) and many bigwigs of the industry came together to make it happen. I wasn't too excited about the film at the time but Kurukshetra came back to me almost a decade later. See, I am a very big opportunist when it comes to films. I might not seek them out but if something exciting is offered to me, I won't let go of it at any cost," adds the Kranti actor.

Both Sangolli Rayanna (2012) and Kurukshetra (2019) became big commercial successes and further enunciated Darshan's position as a leading man. The actor will be next seen in the hugely anticipated Kranti wherein he plays an NRI named Kranti Rayanna (a reference to Sangolli Rayanna) who returns home to India to fix the depleting education system. Rachita Ram plays the female lead with V. Harikrishna directing the film and Shylaja Nag and B. Suresha of Media House Studio producing the film.