I have given my soul to Akira

Over the past one year, everything Kannada actor Anish Tejeshwar said or did had something to do with his release today, Akira. He literally lived and breathed the film. As the film, which has been produced by a debutant production house, S2 Entertainment, hits the big screen, we caught up with Anish, who far from being a bundle of nerves, was eagerly looking forward to the release.Excerpts from a conversation...
Taking up Akira
After my last release, Endendu Ninagaagi, I had decided that I needed to up my game and look at working with teams that are well and truly passionate about filmmaking. I was busy with my fitness and dance regimens when Naveen Reddy (the director of Akira) requested to meet me for a script narration. What was supposed to be a 15 minute meeting, went on for a few hours and I was totally hooked by Naveen's narration. Despite being a newbie, he was so confident and clear about what he wanted to bring to the screen. I did not give it another thought and said I would do this film. Almost immediately Naveen took me to his cousin Chethan Kumar, who was launching his production house with this film. The first thing that he told me was that considering he and Naveen have never been involved with the industry, they did not want just an actor on board. They wanted me to be fully involved with the project, right from the rest of the casting, to getting the crew in place, etc. This was the kind of opportunity I was looking for and I jumped at it.

Spending a year for the film
I have given a year to this project, and I have no regrets about it. Working on Akira has, no doubt, helped me grow as an artiste. The first few months were spent on ensuring that I was in the best physical form, as the makers wanted me to sport six-pack abs. Also, considering that the film has a very youth-centric subject, we wanted to focus on one element, action, drama or dance and since I have been training for a few years, we decided to make dance an important element. That's not to say we neglected the other factors. I can confidently say that I have bettered myself in all aspects of acting with this film. Most importantly, I had a lot of freedom on this project and have given my soul to it.
Working with the best crew
The makers were very particular about having the best crew on board, be it Ajaneesh Loknath for the music, Srikanth Gowda (Ugramm) as editor, Tollywood's top choreographers Shekhar and Johnny and so many more. Thankfully, I knew all of them and ensured that they were a part of our film. Having all of them onboard for Naveen's screenplay ensured that we now have a quality product in hand. Visually, Akira is stunning, and the content is engaging. The music is also a highlight, my personal favourite being Minchu Minchu Nakshthra, which is my introduction song.