Team Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana feels the full fury of Raj B Shetty as Shiva

The actor-director was so involved in the character that it was difficult differentiating him from Raj the director on set.

Raj B Shetty in a still from the film

It’s absolutely astounding to see the transformation of actor-director Raj B Shetty during the making of his latest, Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. In the video, ‘Making of Shiva’ that the makers of the film released today, there’s the calm, composed and jovial Raj – the director – and then there’s the silent, brooding and angry Raj – the actor. They are so vastly different that it is almost eerie seeing Raj well and truly become Shiva, the hot-headed lead character of the film.

It strikes you even more, when you see Praveen Shriyan the cinematographer and editor of the film explaining how easy the first schedule was, saying, “The first 8–9-day schedule was with the child artistes playing the younger versions of the protagonists Hari and Shiva. Raj didn’t have much to do except direct and it was smooth sailing”, along with scenes of Raj having fun with the young actors and crew.

“But then, once we completed that schedule and began shooting with him as Shiva, he was no longer the Raj from earlier,” adds Praveen, as the visuals cut to the actor-director’s transformation into the character. Shanil Guru, the associate director of the film, elaborates, “The character is extremely aggressive and Raj anna had to be in a certain ‘zone’ to get that right.”

As we then cut to visuals of a silent, brooding Shiva, the crew says that Raj was just like the character on set, hardly talking to anyone and so into the character that he’d often even lose his temper. “It was difficult to speak to him, especially if there were mistakes on our part, as he would handle the situation just as Shiva would in the film and that was not pleasant,” adds Praveen.

It would not be wrong to say that the team was scared to bits, so much so that the crew began practicing social-distancing on set, especially as far as being in Raj’s vicinity goes, hoping for the return of Raj the director.

Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana is Raj’s latest directorial, after Ondu Motteya Kathe, and slated to hit theatres on November 19. The film is Raj’s interpretation of the Mangaluru underworld from the point of view of the protagonists, Shiva and Hari (Rishab Shetty), whom he has modelled on gods Shiva and Vishnu.

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