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Pradeep: Rangan Style is my first solo hero film

Upcoming Kannada actor Pradeep is graduating to play the solo lead in the movie Rangan Style that is all set to release on Friday, March 21 across Karnataka.

The actor popularly known as ‘Jolly Days Pradeep’ has been experiencing good times in recent months. He married his girlfriend of five years Inchara and was judged the best batsman in the recently concluded fourth season of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL).

The Kannada film Rangan Style starring Pradeep in the lead has generated a lot of interest and set him on the road to stardom. What’s more, two of numbers in the film, Gangammana Style and Hudugi Beku, have become chartbusters and gone viral on the Internet.

In this interview, Pradeep talks about the style he sports in Rangan Style and what it takes to play the lead for the first time.

What is Rangan Style all about?

This film is special to me because it is my first solo film. Ever since my debut in 2009, I have been one of two or three heroes in a film.

Rangan Style has given me the opportunity to carry the film on my shoulders.

The film is targeted at the youth. In this generation there are guys who won’t express their love for a girl; they use technology to propose to their girlfriends by sending text messages or through Facebook messages. There’s an important knot in the movie that changes the story of the movie.

'Kichcha Sudeep made a friendly appearance for my sake'

What’s this style statement that you are trying to make as the title suggests?

The first half of the movie is stylish where the hero is rugged and tough. He doesn’t care for anyone. 

He has one language, whether it’s to a girl or a boy. Ranga hates love and those who are in love.

His language undergoes a complete change after he falls in love and he begins to support love.

The second half is high on emotions. The emotional graph is high in the movie and the lead to the climax is emotionally charged.

What part does Sudeep play in your film?

One of the highlights of the movie is Kichcha Sudeep’s brief appearance. He has made a friendly appearance for my sake. He has been supporting me ever since I entered this industry as an actor.

Sudeep plays a cameo role as a CCB cop. The storyline of the movie changes with his entry. He has a message for the youth who are in love and for their parents about how they should handle their children who are in love.

Gurukiran’s music has taken the film closer to people with two songs becoming extremely popular.

Bharti Singh, the comedy queen, has danced for the first time in a South film in the Gangammana Style song. We didn’t know that she could dance so well.

Ravi Verma who composed the fights in Salman Khan’s Jai Ho has directed two fight sequences in this total commercial film.

'When we started work, Gangnam Style had become popular, so we registered our title as Rangan Style'

What was it like acting in a film that has been directed by a debutant?

Director Prashant and I have been friends ever since Jolly Days in which he worked as an associate director.

He had expressed a desire to direct a film for me. It has taken a year for this film to complete.

How did your team manage to create such interest and curiosity among the public?

I don’t know how it happened. When we started work, Gangnam Style had become popular. So we registered our title as Rangan Style while giving me a different look.

We wanted the posters to look different as well. So we did a photo shoot before we began our shoot.

All this helped create some interest and hype even at the pre-production stage.

My performance in the CCL has also helped me in creating that interest. 

'The film is pure entertainment with a message at the end'

What can the audiences expect from Rangan Style?

We have tried to convey a message through the movie. The message is that people should not follow what happens in the film.

It is not preaching; it is pure entertainment with a message at the end.

Kanika Tiwari, who acted as Hrithik Roshan’s sister in Agneepath, has done a good job as the heroine in this movie.

We shot a song in Sultan Batheri in Kerala for a day where there is a natural heart-shaped lake where no film crew has ever shot.

It took us nearly four hours to trek there. We have not digitally manipulated the location.

Is your real life love story similar to what is shown in Rangan Style?

No. Ours was a love-cum-arranged marriage. There is no relationship or similarity whatsoever between my role in the movie and my real life love story.

'I had the distinction of scoring a hat-trick of half centuries in CCL'

Your marriage was considered to be one of the most high profile weddings?

There was nothing special as such apart from the fact that my father-in-law Shivaram, was a former IAS officer.

As a family, we kept it very simple. It was a great feeling that bigwigs attended the wedding. There is nothing to feel proud about it.

How was the whole experience of playing cricket in the fourth season of the CCL (Celebrity Cricket League)?

It was a wonderful experience. I had the distinction of scoring a hat-trick of half centuries in the tournament.

I was sent up the order this time and that gave me a good opportunity to be among the runs. I opened the innings in all the games.

We lost the first season due to sheer bad luck and lost by a run in the second season. We lifted the championship in the third and fourth seasons. But our team figured in all the finals of all the seasons.

How was the experience of playing under Sudeep who captained the team?

He knows a lot about cricket. He has played at university level.

We cannot think of anyone else who can steer the team so well. Sudeep is good at people management and coordinating the efforts of his teammates.

He knows how to pump in positive energy thus aiming for a winning attitude in his team.