Exclusive! Now, I have producers who will back my projects, which was not the case until recently: Dhananjaya

Daali Dhananjaya has always been vocal about the fact that actors turn producers when good stories are not offered to them, so they make them themselves, or when they don’t have support to bring a good story to the big screen. The actor, who chose to produce Head Bush, based on the strength of writer Agni Sridhar’s script, a film that he knew would be challenging, given that it is set in a different era, adds that it also takes “some level of stupidity to take up such challenges”.

“My filmi career can be split in two – the journey till Tagaru, and then the one thereafter. They are both drastically different. After Tagaru, I did not want to get lost doing small roles. At the time, I was doing supporting roles, villain characters and people used to appreciate my performance and wherever I’d go, fans would gather in thousands, but that did not convert into business. As a hero, you need to be able to show a certain market reach in terms of, say, theatrical and non-theatrical business, otherwise, your remuneration also doesn’t go up. You won’t be able to do the kind of roles you want to then. It becomes important to prove your marketability and that’s how I turned producer with Badava Rascal. The film was a superhit and after that I took up Head Bush. I had to step up the scale here and prove myself all over again, else other producers will not have the confidence to put that kind of money on you,” he explains.

But Dhananjaya is now at a comfortable stage, having struck a good professional rapport with KRG Studios. “That is now. I have been friends with Karthik Gowda and Yogi G Raj of KRG Studios for a while, but our cinematic journey began only when I did Rathnan Prapancha with them. It’s the culmination of a long journey together, wherein you realize that you share similar wavelengths and thought process as far as films go. So, we did Rathnan Prapancha, then began Hoysala and will do Uttarakhaanda next. Now, I have producers who will back my projects, while I will produce the content that I like, in which I may not necessarily act. In fact, as of now, I have no plans of producing another film with me in the lead,” he signs off.