This story is from May 20, 2016

Ex-CM Kumaraswamy was the reason I did Jaguar

Jagapathi Babu talks about his next Kannada film, Jaguar
Ex-CM Kumaraswamy was the reason I did Jaguar
He was last seen in the Sandalwood film Bachchan alongside Sudeep. He's slowly made a transition from lead roles to interesting character roles, also experimenting with industries beyond Tollywood. Jagapathi Babu, or JB as he chooses to call himself in this phase of his life, is elated that he's getting to experiment with characters and exploring opportunities in other industries.
He talks to us about what enticed him to do Jaguar, how he's impressed by former CM HD Kumaraswamy, and how he aspires to be where Amitabh Bachchan is. Excerpts from a chat...
Kumaraswamy chose me
While the director of Jaguar is Mahadev, who has worked in Tollywood, it was former CM Kumaraswamy who insisted that I do this film. He had seen my roles in Legend and Srimanthudu and was keen that I act in this film. In fact, I was given the option of playing the villain, but I felt that those roles get too monotonous, so I chose the other option: to play a CBI officer in the film. I am really happy with the way the team has shot for the movie so far. When I went for my first meeting with Kumaraswamy, I expected to be kept waiting in a room and then meet him, since he is the son of the ex-PM of India and an ex-CM himself. But I was surprised when he was waiting to greet me as I arrived and humbly introduced himself saying, 'Hi, I'm Kumaraswamy.' The man and his simplicity are the reasons I chose to do the film. He's so passionate about filmmaking. He makes sure he spends 4-5 hours every day on the set checking out the rushes, irrespective of what work he is doing ' such is his passion towards cinema.
Nikhil is very dedicated
I am also very impressed with the way Nikhil Kumar is prepping for his big-screen debut. He is extremely dedicated and we can see his passion from the way he has worked over the past few years to ready himself for this film. Someone told me he has lost 30 kilos to realize his dream of making it big in cinema, which is really impressive.
Doing films outside Tollywood
I'm doing another Kannada film, Vijayaditya. What got me to say yes to this film were the earnestness and passion in the filmmaker's work. I saw a few rushes and I was convinced this is a project I should do. I am also doing Tamil films with Vijay and Vishal and have recently completed shooting for a film in Malayalam alongside Mammootty. I like this phase of my life when I get to pick interesting roles.
Freedom from expectations
The transition from a main hero to character roles also means that I have the freedom from worrying whether the film is a hit or not or whether it gets a good opening. The focus of that worry has shifted from Jagapathi Babu to some other Babu. This is why I like to call myself JB in this new phase. I do not have any particular dream roles as such, but I am looking at doing roles like what Amitabh Bachchan is doing in Bollywood. They are mature, entertaining and are varied in presentation and style. I hope to get there someday.
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