A maiden shot in Mumbai

Actor Diganth Manchale, Sandalwood's poster boy and heartthrob, is finally making his debut in Bollywood after much anticipation. 'Gully Cricket' will be his maiden project in B-town that he hopes will set sails to his career in the industry. The movie is a remake of the Tamil film 'Chennai 28' and will also be starring Siddhanth Kapoor.

We catch up with him just before he flies to Mumbai to shoot in the gullies there.

“I dropped out of Vikram Bhatt's '1920' because I didn't want to launch my career with a horror film. Everyone, I knew was against it. The other film (with Preeti Desai) never took off. I can't wait to start shooting for 'Gully' which is a film based on friendship," gushes the actor. After two weeks of workshops, he expresses, “It's amazing how professional this industry (Bollywood) is. Everyone practices their scenes before getting to the sets so that no time is wasted. I don't think I have ever worked so hard," the B Com graduate from Jain College confesses. Incidentally, the 'chocolate boy' loved playing gully cricket as a child. “That is why I agreed to the film, because I could relate to it," adds Diganth who underwent voice modulation training for 'Gully'. While his next Kannada movie, 'Ondurali Oba Raja' is an action flick, the second film is yet to be titled. “The latter is based on a real life love story," he adds.

In his free time, the actor loves hanging out with friends and family. It is either a movie or dining at a local restaurant. Given his celeb status, we couldn't help but ask if he gets mobbed when he steps out. “In Bengaluru, fans just ask for a photograph. But up state, you actually get mobbed. But you are who your fans make you so I really see no harm in that," Diganth expresses. Speaking of friends, there is a certain friend who he admits to being the closest. “An (Aindrita Ray) and I are very close friends. If something brews between us you will know," he smiles. As far as his settling down is concerned, Diganth insists that there is still time. “My brother just got engaged. Let him get married and then we will see about me," says the actor who grew up in Thirthahalli.