Exclusive! If RX 100 had got a Kannada-dubbed release, I would never have done Shiva 143: Dheeren Ramkumar

Dheeren Ramkumar has been working on his acting debut since 2019 and from the word go, he’s been clear that he wants audiences to look beyond his family lineage. The actor is the grandson of matinee idol Dr Rajkumar and son of veteran actor Ramkumar; his uncles, Shiva Rajkumar, late Puneeth, Raghavendra, cousin Vinay and his own sister Dhanya, are all in the business of cinema. “I am not a star kid; I am just someone who wants to be an actor,” says Dheeren, who adds that he knows that a section of the audience that comes to theatres on Friday will be there for that reason – to see what the next generation actor from the Rajkumar family brings to the table.

This is also why he is not perturbed by the fact that his film has been censored with an ‘A’ certificate, which will, potentially keep a segment of the audience away from theatres. “I am sure that people will be intrigued to know why Dr Rajkumar’s grandson has done an A-rated film,” reckons the actor. But that is not the only issue, Shiva 143 is also a remake; it is the Kannada version of the Telugu hit RX 100. Wouldn’t most of his target audience already have seen the original? “RX 100 was popular only in the Telugu belt, and didn’t have a great run in Karnataka. Having said that, I must add that it has done quite well on OTT. When I started the movie, this whole concept of pan-India release or, for that matter, dubbing into multiple languages was not a big thing. If RX 100 had been dubbed into Kannada and released here, I would not have done Shiva 143. When the subject came to me, I quite liked it and I couldn’t say no to it. As for alienating audiences by doing a remake as my launchpad… see, I am doing a film according to the current trend. I am here to do films that suit my age. I am 30 years old already. I want to target the youth with my films – that’s the flavour of Shiva 143. I cannot do a film that is family-oriented and youthful at the same time. Going forward I can always do family subjects,” he says.

Although Shiva 143 is inspired by the Telugu film RX 100, Dheeren says that a lot has been changed to make the narrative suit the sensibilities of Kannada audiences. “The original script had a few loopholes, which have been rectified here. The length of the final movie is also different. It is a raw law story, which has a particular graph as far as the hero’s characterization goes. He will make you feel happy, sad, agitated and irritated. People may say it is a tried-and-tested commercial formula, which, I don’t deny – this is a massy love story. I felt the story was strong and the character was challenging for me, which is why I have done this film,” he says, adding, “Getting into the skin of the character was difficult for me because Shiva is nothing like what I am like in real life. Shiva is rugged, moody and angry, yet he is also innocent and highly emotional and can be reduced to tears. To play Shiva, I had to be someone else and that, as an actor on only his first movie, was challenging for me.”

With only days to go for his big-screen debut, Dheeren says that he is excited that his three-year wait to see the film release is coming to an end. But he’s also a tad nervous. “I have seen the film, but now I want others to see it too and am eagerly waiting to hear what they have to say about me and the movie. I am also hoping that audiences do justice to this film – this is a project that was done with a lot of passion and hardwork, so, if people accept it and give it its due, that will be highly encouraging,” he signs off.