Dhananjaya says that today he is in a position to be selective about his script choices

Kannada actor Dhananjaya has often been candid about the fact that he’s made mistakes with some of the films he’d chosen to be a part of. And while he has no regrets about any of them, he is conscious about what went wrong. Now 25 films old, the actor says that he is in a position where he can pick and choose the projects to be a part of and doesn’t have to sign everything’s that offered to him. Earlier, for a long time, his focus has been on choosing the best scripts among the ones that were coming to him and while he’s never faced a situation where he rejected a script and that went on to become a superhit with some other actor, what has happened is that from the scripts that he chose, several did not work the way he’d hoped they would. The focus, said Dhananjaya, was to work with good producers and directors and do his best as an actor, while also doing films continuously and reach audiences.

Dhananjaya adds that it is impossible for a new actor to be ‘selective’ and have a foolproof game plan. No one can become an overnight sensation at the start of their careers, he reckons, adding that every actor will have journey of ups and downs. As far as he’s concerned, after playing hero for a while, Dhananjaya even had a face in which he was only seen in negative characters (post Tagaru) or other supporting characters and yet again doing all that came his way. It is at that point that Dhananjaya decided to turn producer and made Badava Rascal. But during the production of this film, which eventually became a big hit at the box office, he had to do a bunch of films to be able to channel funds into his home venture. After Badava Rascal, he had Head Bush, and then Gurudev Hoysala, all of which have cemented his position in the Kannada industry and given him the leeway to be selective.

Daali Dhananjaya on Tagaru Palya: I have made mistakes as an actor, but as a producer, I try not to 

“Today, I am in the phase where I can say that I will do this, or I won’t do that. And this journey and the associations I have made along the way has taught me that even the most talented filmmakers may or may not have the prowess needed to translate that to the screen. Now, I look for teams that are open to discussions and suggestions for the betterment of the project and producers who have the wherewithal not only to make the film, but also to do everything required to promote it and reach it to audiences as well,” says Dhananjaya.