The third generation film actor from Sandalwood’s first family, Vinay Rajkumar, the grandson of Kannada thespian, late Dr. Rajkumar, has been on a roll to better his performances after his previous film Run Antony failed to meet the expectations at the box office. In his next release, Ananthu Vs Nusrath, he plays a young advocate fighting for a cause and whereas in another venture titled Gramayana, he shifts back to the roots. In an exclusive interview with Bengaluru Chronicle, Vinay Rajkumar talks about the expectations as the grandson of legendary Dr. Rajkumar, his upcoming movies along with some of his fond memories of his grandfather, his inspirational parents, uncles and much more.
“After my previous movie, I had been listening to a lot of scripts with varied characters. I was fortunate to have read two amazing scripts with lot of scope to better myself as an actor. In Ananthu Vs Nusrath, I play an advocate’s role and the film is set in a city. In Gramayana, I will be seen as a village guy. I was impressed the moment I heard the one line story of Gramayana. It talks about the migration of rural population into urban areas. Even in terms of costumes, the language (dialect) and the making, both films are completely different from each other. This is what I was thriving for,” says Vinay Rajkumar.
As regards to the huge expectations on being the grandson of a legendary actor, Vinay shares that the expectations will always remain, “Like any actor, I am learning through every movie I am involved with. To better my act will always be my main priority. I am yet to prove myself as an actor, and the efforts are always to first satisfy myself and to hope for good a response from the audience. They have appreciated the teaser from my two films. They have loved my makeover in Gramayana, wherein I have grown a beard to give a realistic as a village boy,” he adds.
As far as his advocate role is concerned, Vinay reveals that he did a lot preparation to do justice to it. “I attended several live court proceedings to understand how a real advocate presents his case in the court. The kind of legal language and even the mannerisms of an advocate is unique. I have done my best playing one,” he says adding that while shooting for the film, it brought back memories of his grandfather who always missed his village.
“As a child, I remember the days when the entire family would visit Gajanur, which is my grandfather’s village. More than half the village is filled with our relatives. My grandfather would always tell us that he would go back to his village after his acting career. He disliked having security men around even during the village visits. We would stay for more than a week, and those were the best days of my childhood,” Vinay recollects.
He also shares that he is happy to see his father Raghavendra Rajkumar making a comeback in films after a gap of over 14 years and that he’s excited to work with the new generation filmmakers.
While the actor says that he seeks the advise of his star uncles and his father before signing new project, Vinay also credits his mother for pushing him to better. “My parents and my entire family are my biggest strength. My mother is special because she always keeps a tab on everything. She pushes me to do better,” he signs off.
