Exclusive! Dharma Keerthiraj: After 12-13 years in the industry, I’m still waiting for that big break

Dharma Keerthiraj is acutely aware that although he has been in the Kannada industry for about 12-13 years, his days of struggle are not over. “I am yet to find my big break that will aid me in my journey to becoming a commercially viable actor. I need to deliver that one good movie for audiences to start accepting me. The least I can do for the people believing in me and investing money on my films is to ensure a minimum guarantee of returns. I have probably not reached that stage because my script selection has been wrong, or the execution of the stories have been faulty. It could also be that I have certain weaknesses as an actor. Back in the day, even if a film didn’t do well at the box office, a producer could make do with dubbing and satellite rights, provided it has certain mandatory elements, like, say, n number of fights and songs, among others. Those days are gone. Audiences today demand a good story that is told well and has a certain level of quality. My endeavour in the last few years has been to cater to this demand and I have a slew of films in different genres that see me either as protagonist or antagonist in the pipeline,” says Dharma.

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In a scenario like this, Dharma says that it is disappointing when a film is up for release with zilch promotions. “My film Suman is up for release on May 19, but for reasons best known to the team they have not done any promotions. The film, though, is releasing in about 150 centres in Karnataka and another 100-odd in the Hindi belt, for which a dubbed version is also ready. At its core, Suman is a about a love triangle, but there’s also a fair bit of action, emotion and drama. There is a strong father-son track in the story. Stunt master Vinod has composed 5 commercial action sequences, which have turned out well. The songs will also be a highlight, especially the one shot in Mysuru, during the Dasara festivities with all the celebratory lights,” says the actor.