Shivarajkumar credits everyone who’s ever worked with him, as well as his fans, for his 36-year journey in cinema

This Christmas, Kannada cinema’s Century Star Shivarajkumar will celebrate the release of his 125th film. Vedha, is special in many ways for him. It reunites him with choreographer-director A Harsha, with whom he has done films like Bhajarangi, Vajrakaya and Bhajarangi 2. It is also the first home production for the actor under the banner Geetha Pictures.

In the last few days, the actor has been busy travelling across the state for various promotional events, whether it is Chitradurga, Mangaluru, among others. He’s also been setting aside time to speak to the media about the film, which is a milestone release for him, and his journey of 36 years, which is still going strong.

Speaking about his nearly four-decade long tryst with cinema, Shivanna, as the actor is fondly known, said that it’s largely due to the love he’s got from fans in all these years. But enabling that, he said, was everyone he’s ever worked with, whether it is the directors who gave him some of the most memorable roles of his career, music directors, choreographers, stunt masters, or co-actors, among others. He said, “This is long journey – 36 years – starting with Anand and now, up next Vedha. Taking me from Anand to Vedha, credit goes to my fans, my parents, who produced Anand, directors, co-stars, technicians like choreographers and stunt masters, everyone’s played a role in this Shivanna’s growth in the Kannada film industry. I am so thankful to everyone for being so supportive. I can never forget that everyone’s maintained the same level of affection for me that they’ve had since day 1,” he said, speaking to Filmy Junction Studios.

Vedha, which has the tagline ‘The Violent 60s’, is an action-based entertainer, which also stars Ganavi Laxman, Aditi Sagar, Shwetha Changappa, Umashree, Raghu Shivamogga, among others. The film will be in theatres on December 23.