Exclusive! I could explore the actor in me with Dasara's Suri, says Dheekshith Shetty

Dasara, which released in theatres across the country today, is Kannada actor Dheekshith Shetty’s first big budget and pan-India outing. The Srikanth Odela film, in which Dheekshith plays a pivotal role as leading man Nani’s friend Suri, has opened to positive reviews, with the Kannada actor, in particular, receiving a lot of praise. The former TV star, whose only filmi outing in Kannada has been Dia so far, in which he played the shy lover boy Rohit, has a slew of films lined up for release, but Dasara, which also gets a Kannada version, is his second movie here, so to say.

As Suri, Dheekshith sheds his Dia image and sports a thick beard and raw and massy look. Was he ever worried about whether his core audience back home would accept him like that, considering that they showered him with love for Dia? “As an actor, I don’t want to do something I have done before. I’m always searching for something new. I don’t want to stick on to only one kind of character. I want to break that and try new roles and explore myself as an actor. I don’t know about how my audiences back home will accept me, but so far, all the responses to my look in the film, from the teaser and the trailer have been widely appreciated. In fact, many have told me that they prefer my look in Dasara than how I was in Dia, or, for instance, how I am right now, clean shaven,” he said.

Read our review of Dasara here: Dasara Review : Has routine story but Nani's solid transformation makes it worth a watch 

Audiences have been showering Dheekshith with immense praise, with comments ranging from “Dheekshith Done his part very well” to “Dheekshith did a fabulous job. We see only the character onscreen”, Dheekshith is just perfect for the role”, “Bone-chilling performance by Dheekshith”, among others.