Sudeep suggested that I do Jigarthanda

At 29, RK Rahul has got a second chance in his film career, and he's leaving no stone unturned to ensure that his dreams turn to reality. Speaking of dreams, here is a guy who dreams big and has no qualms about admitting it ' modesty be damned. Ahead of the release of his film, Jigarthanda, he speaks to us about all things under the sun ' no holds barred.Excerpts'
You are back in the limelight as a hero in one of the most talked-about films of the year. What do you think the film will do for you?
Jigarthanda will, and already has, changed my life. I am back with a film after eight years. Some time ago, I didn't know the value of being a part of a film. Today, I have high regard and value for the opportunity and I have done everything I possibly can to help present a good film to audiences.
Tell us about the initial phase of your career...
Back in college, I was an introvert. I would not voice my opinion even if there were only a handful of people in the room. However, things changed when I accompanied a friend ' a model ' to an audition for the post of a television host. One of the jury members was Ganesh, who used to be a TV anchor and had just seen the release of his first film. I had rehearsed well only to introduce a song to viewers, but the jury there asked me various other questions. I did quite badly, but requested them to let me enact what I had rehearsed too. As luck would have it, I was chosen to play host. After Ganesh's popularity as a TV star-turned-film star, a lot of filmmakers were on the hunt for other such finds. I happened to be one of them, I soon signed up for five films. I recall feeling good about having to turn down some other known filmmakers too for the lack of dates. But what I did not realize was that acting was a completely different ball game. My films did not do well, and I have only myself to blame for that as I did not perform. And from a point where I was this busy actor, to having no work at all' it was a big fall and like many others in the industry, I took it quite badly. There are a lot of us here who get stuck in this in-between phase ' where you have not achieved stardom, and you are not even in a position to go back to where you started and take up a job, because 'you are an actor now, you see... I can't take up a regular job!' You know you are in that phase when you find people looking at you and saying 'I have seen you somewhere, but where' You are identified, but not recognized. And before you know it, you are forgotten too. It is a tough phase and there are many who just cannot get out of it. But over time, with support from my mother Lalitha, I got back on track and started working as an event manager.

How did you find your way back into the industry?
Right from childhood, playing cricket has been a passion. There was a tournament called the Raj Cup, and I was eager to play as well. I wanted to play for Captain's (His name for Sudeep) team, but he had his team in place and it was tough to get his attention to show your own skills. But the Directors' Team picked me up and through that I think, later, I was able to at least make it as a substitute in the Karnataka Bulldozer's team at the CCL. But I knew I was a better player and I wanted Captain to see that. However, the one chance I got, when we were playing against Chennai, I was the last batsman on field and we lost the match by one run. I found it so tough to step out of my house for a couple of days after that because wherever I went, people were telling me how disappointed they were with me because I did not score that one run. Some even told me they lost money because of me. I had to redeem myself and my opportunity came two seasons later. It is only Captain who can transform your life ' from that of a substitute player to the opening batsman ' and that is exactly what happened. Off the field too, I was this enthusiastic person ' the first guy on the dance floor kind of guy. I am a very open-hearted person, no pretentions ' I say what is on my mind without thinking about how it will be interpreted or how I ought to present myself. I think I could say I am somewhat like how Ranveer Singh is. Coming back to the question, I was at this phase in life wherein I was busy with cricket and my event management company along with Priya (Radhakrishnan) ma'am. We were working closely on events with producer Raghunath at the time. He did not know I was an actor before and asked why I had not tried acting. Priya ma'am suggested he produce a film with me in the lead. Raghunath sir as well as Captain felt it was a good idea. It was Captain who suggested I do Jigarthanda after he watched the original. He picked up the rights, put together the entire team and set the ball rolling for me. I am ever grateful to all of them, including Sathyanarayan sir, and I can say with conviction that this time around, I have given it my best.
What was it like to work with a team of actors like P Ravi Shankar and Chikkanna who are popular among audiences today?
It is undoubtedly an honour to share the screen with such talented actors. There was a scene with Ravi Shankar and me, and Ravi Shankar had finished shooting his portions and left for the day. I had to react to something he had said, and that was not coming across well enough. I requested him to come back to the set to deliver his dialogue again so that I could react, and he did that for me ' despite his schedule and stature and the kind of respect he commands. Chikkanna, on the other hand, is one among the most recognized comedians in the state today. I remember being at an event with him where there were a few other leading actors of our industry. The crowd's cheers that went out for Chikkanna overpowered the rest. But he remains unaffected with all that attention ' he is totally grounded and down-to-earth. Working with them, therefore is at times intimidating, but I am sure I have done my bit and complemented their performances with my own.

Are you now enjoying the attention that you seem to have got back from the crowd?
Yes, I do love the attention. It feels great when you are recognized as an actor and for the work you do. But, as of now, I am also extremely anxious about the release of this film too. The kind of attention the film has garnered too is tremendous, as we have theatres across Karnataka lining up with requests to release the film too. I have been involved with the making of this film from scratch and as a marketing graduate, and with an event management background, I have been part of the promotions and publicity of this film too. There was a time when I would not be able to sleep before the release of a film because I was tensed about the outcome. This time around, I am not sleeping before the release of this film because I am constantly thinking of new ways to promote the film and working on the execution of these ideas. I think I have tortured the rest of the team enough ' waking them up in the middle of the night to talk about new ideas. It is a different high.
What kind of marketing stratergies have you come up with?
We started with dubsmashes wherein so many actors, like Amulya, Kriti Kharbanda, Shanvi Shrivatsav and Meghana Gaonkar, shared videos of their Jigarthanda dubsmash. This got a lot of the public to do the same and upload their own videos and it became quite a rage. Closer to the release, we have leading actors and actresses from the industry say one dialogue and follow that up with their own jig to the tunes of one of our songs ' Ding Dong Bell, Drink in the Well. Actors like Shivarajkumar, Ganesh, Yash, Diganth, Sriimurali, Prajwal Devaraj and many others have put up their videos with their own little jigs. Even Siddharth, who played the lead in the original version, has put up a video of him speaking about this version in Kannada. We have been sending out modified and decorated vehicles across Karnataka for promotions and the response to them from people is just fabulous. Post release too, we have a few interesting activities involving Ravi Shankar, Chikkanna and me lined up.
What's next after Jigarthanda?
Lots I hope. After the film was edited, Captain has personally taken time off to further trim the film and added some final touches to it. There are a lot of expectations and that is overwhelming. I have already received a lot of offers, some of which have come through Captain. But I am going to wait till Jigarthanda releases before take up anything new.