I thank P Vasu for recognising my talents: Avinash

Kannada actor Avinash, who has played a priest in Dr. Vishnuvardhan's Aaptha Rakshaka, is all excited about the success of the film. Recently, he got the offer to play the same role in the Telugu version of the movie staring Venkatesh in lead role. The lecturer-turned-actor thanks director P Vasu for recognising his talent and offering him the role in the film.

The Kannada actor, who is presently busy shooting for the movie Karthik, is also hopeful to get an opportunity to star in Tamil version of Aaptha Rakshaka, which will feature Rajiniikanth in the lead. The actor spoke to about his upcoming movies. Here are the excerpts of actor Avinash inteview.

You began your career as a Lecturer in English. Which college have you worked in? How was your experience? Why did you quit it?
I've done post graduation in English and I"m proud to say that I"ve studied English literature under hands of scholars like UR Ananthmurthy. I started my career as a Lecturer in English at Sharada Vilas College in Mysore and later I served BEL College, BES College and MES College in Bangalore. I had a wonderful experience in teaching. After all, it is a very respectable job. But I was much involved in theatre activities, which made me quit the teaching.

Have you acted in any play? Can you name a few popular plays?
Why not? I"ve acted in many plays. I've worked with Spandana nataka group, Shankar Nag"s Sanket, Prasanna"s Janapada Nataka group and Bombay Jayashree. I've toured across the state and played plays like 'Hindujala' and 'Huliya Neralu'.

Being a student of English literature, have you ever tried to write? Since film industry is suffering from good scripts, don"t you think that you can write good story?
I used to read a lot, but frankly I"ve never tried my hand in writing. I think it"s very difficult job and one needs lot of mental balance. There are many script writers like Yogaraj Bhat. It's almost 30 years I finished my college days and lot of things have changed. Who will watch it if I write a love story of my days?

How did you enter Kannada film industry? Which was your first movie?
It just happened. As I said I was seriously following my theatre career. I was involved in plays with Shankar Nag"s Sanket group and TN Narsiman, a popular playwright and a theatre artist. Once I got an opportunity to star in a movie called Thrishoola, which was my debut movie. But unfortunately, the movie did not release due to some problem. Anyway, I was introduced to the industry through this movie and had some contacts too. With that I got other projects. It should be mentioned here that me and Devaraj owe a lot to producer KV Raju because initially he encouraged us with a few offers. I acted is five or six of his movies and proved our mettle and later, I got several projects.

How many movies have you acted in so far? Have you ever got any awards?
I"ve acted in more than 200 movies so far. I've received Best Supporting Artiste State Award for my performance in Girish Kasaravalli"s Dweepa, which has got Best Film National Awards. My roles in Mathadana, which has bagged Golden Lotus, and State Award winner Singarevva have got rave reviews. In fact, I'd expected couple of National and Filmfare awards for my roles in a few movies including Singarevva, but it did not happen. Then onwards, I stopped dreaming of awards and I started acting for my personal interest.

There is lot of difference between your roles in Apthamitra and Aaptha Rakshaka. There seems to be no proper stiffness in your role in Aaptha Rakshaka. What would you say about it?
Yes! I do agree with what you say. But the reason behind this is that I meet Vishnuvardhan for the first in Apthamitra. I don"t have faith in his talent and there is lot antagonism and arrogance in our behaviours. I behave like a tough villain to him, but at the end of the movie we become friends. Where as in Aaptha Rakshaka, we're already close friends. A problem occurs after five years after the movie. So I invite him to take his help to solve it. You can"t expect me to be stiff and rude towards him.

Recently, you have got the offer to play the same role in Telugu version of Aaptha Rakshaka. How do you feel about it?
Really, it"s great honour for me. It's very great character and is very tough to play also. On this occasion, I thank director P Vasu for recognizing my talent and selecting me for the role even for Telugu Version. Earlier, he had given me opportunity to star in both Tamil and Telugu versions of Apthmitra. He is also thinking of roping me in for Tamil version of Aaptha Rakshaka, which will see Rajinikanth in lead role. I would like to thank P Vasu for honour me with this role, which is equal to a National Award for me.

Will you take full privacy to play a particular given to you or act according to the requirement of director?
I won"t take full privacy to present a character because the director knows the story and he decides how a particular character should behave/act. Ultimately, he is the boss of the movie. Yes! Sometime, I will take privacy, when I find something more appropriate and I should act in particular way. But I'm director"s actor and will act according to his requirement.

Do you have any dream role, which you desperately want to play it?
Yes! There are many roles, which I wanted to play, but I did not get such offers. For example, I wanted to play Morgan Feeman"s role in Hollywood movie Redemption. But there is none to do such movies in Kannada.

Do you think remakes are responsible for failure of Kannada film industry?
You can"t say that because after all film industry is a business and producers want to earn money through it. So it is a voluntary aspect and nobody can question them. If one wants to invest in remakes you can"t stop him. It's his money and if a remake movie fails at the Box Office, he will take its responsibility and face the consequences. You can"t tell me don"t do remakes just because industry is suffering.

The year 2009 has seen maximum number of flop movies. What do you think are the reason for it?
There are several reasons for it, but according to me the main aspect is the entry of real-estate businessmen in 2009. And this led to the scarcity of scripts. And remake movies seemed to be an easy way to earn the money and this idea encouraged the remaking culture. There were also some good and original movies, but they were washed away by this wave of remakes. It's really tragedy of the year.

Do you think that you are getting the same respect that your getting initially or anything changed?
No things have changed with moving time. I've got lot of recognition and both respect and remuneration have been doubled. Even I'm getting more offers when you compare today with starting days. I'm very happy about it. There are some talented actors like Puneet Rajkumar, Shivarajkumar, Sudeep, Vijay and Darshan whom I love very much because they respect my talent and acting.

You look always happy and cheerful while Kannada film industry is suffering and all the actors, directors and producers are anxious. They look more scared and hardly anyone is happy. In such situation, how do you manage to be so cheerful?
Even I've played some a few stupid roles in some flop movies. I don"t feel bad for them because I've also played several roles, which have got rave reviews for my performance. I look at them and lead my life. I walk 4 to 5 Kms everyday morning and do workouts like weight lifting, which makes me feel more energetic and yonger. It makes me feel the man of this generation. This is how I make myself be cheerful and happy.