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'Ugramm has given me some satisfaction'

Kannada actor Srimurali has bounced back with renewed vigour as his latest release Ugramm is close to completing 50 days of a successful run at the box-office.

The actor began his career with a bang in Chandra Chakori and followed it up with Kanti that also won him the best actor award from the Government of Karnataka.

This was right at the beginning of his career, a good 10 years ago. Since then, he has not met with much success.

Srimurali is the brother of actor Vijay Raghavendra who won the Bigg Boss crown last year. He is also the cousin of the actor-brothers Shivarajkumar and Puneeth.

In this interview, Srimurali gets candid about his career as an actor and the success of his family production Ugramm.  

What do you attribute the success of Ugramm to?

I should thank all the people involved in the making of the film.

I think the director’s clarity of vision and his insistence on carrying it off probably has paid dividends.

In my 10 years of work as an actor in this industry, and going by the films that I have done, this has been truly a different working experience.

'When I heard the first version of the script, it didn't sound convincing'

How different was it working in this movie?

If the director (Prashant) thought he wanted something there was no way he would compromise.

This movie has taken us more than three years and I have done a few films during this period.

I had to tonsure my head for Sri Kshethra Adichunchanagiri (a biopic on a mutt seer). After a few months when I reported on the sets of Ugramm, several wigs were tried on me. But, they did not suit me.

The director decided that he would wait for my hair to grow before we could go ahead with Ugramm.

Why did you accept this role?

When I heard the first version of the script, it didn’t sound convincing. The director worked on the script for close to two-and-a-half years and when I heard his final narration, I liked it.

He came up with justifications for the character and the characterisation of different roles.

'I definitely blame myself for whatever happened to my career'

Your films did not succeed after the initial success of Chandra Chakori and Kanti. What went wrong?

Let me accept the fact that I was nowhere after these films notwithstanding their success.

I definitely blame myself for whatever happened to my career being a non-starter.

I cannot pinpoint what really went wrong. It is beyond my comprehension.

I have no regrets about doing these films because I was part of the project. But, I take the blame for their failure.

My past experiences have been good, bad, best and worst. If I am able to live today it is because of these two films. There were a few good films but people did not like them.

Why did you accept such an unconventional role in Ugramm that doesn’t require you to dance?

I didn’t want to be branded. You have seen Murali act, fight and dance in other movies. What has he done in Ugramm?

Whatever was required to build my characterisation in the movie has been done.

If I had to walk, smile and behave in a particular way, I had to do so in the way it was defined to me.

There was a screen test for three weeks for all of us including senior actors like Avinash and Jaijagadish.

'Bigg Boss brought my brother, Vijay Raghavendra back to the limelight'

Why did the film take so long? Why was the media kept out?

I knew that the movie would take a lot of time in the making. I knew the making would get delayed.

We deliberately kept the film low profile. If we had invited the media and got written about, you people would have definitely asked us why there was a delay.

More than the publicity and media coverage it was necessary that we do our jobs well.

We wanted to keep everything under wraps. I had worked on my looks. I have dedicated this movie to all the cinema lovers, media and the people who have seen me grow all these years.

Why is the film titled Ugramm?

It is based on a hymn (shloka) in adoration and praise of Lord Ugra Narasimha.

The title suggests the burst of anger after the initial poise and that happens when you are pushed to the limit.

Finally, how did you feel when your elder brother Vijay Raghavendra won the Bigg Boss crown?  

My brother and I have somewhat similar career graphs. Bigg Boss brought him back to the limelight..

It was one of the most fabulous moments of my life.

We had forgotten those sunny days that we had seen earlier and I was over the moon when my brother won the crown.

It was the beginning of good times in our lives. We wholeheartedly celebrated this victory together.