He describes himself as an actor who strives to give his best sincerely, and win hearts. And it was smooth sailing for him, until an accident stalled his successful journey which even cut short his Bollywood foray, after all the hard work he had put into earning his ‘Ticket to Bollywood’. The freak accident permanently damaged one eye, and this also kept him away from work for almost a year. Undeterred by it, with greater resolve, actor Diganth Manchale, who is popularly known as Doodh Peda thanks to his milky complexion by his fans, makes a strong comeback with this story that promises to change his fortunes. The hard working actor has even earned another ticket to Bollywood, and this time it’s even bigger. He plays ‘Lord Ram’ in director Kunal Kohli’s upcoming venture Ramayana starring big names in Hindi, which is a bilingual in English and Hindi. It is being shot in Mauritius. For the Chocolate Hero, it turns even sweeter as he is getting married to his best friend and fellow actor Aindrita Ray in December
, amidst packed movie projects. He speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about all that’s been happening, including his upcoming venture Fortuner wherein he coincidentally plays the role of a married guy, and much more!
“It has been a great year so far after the incident which permanently damaged my right eye. It happened during the shooting of the Hindi film Ticket to Bollywood. It kept me away from work for almost a year before I simultaneously took up Katheyondu Shuruvaagide and Fortuner. While Katheyondu was a success, it also earned me a great deal of appreciation, and satisfaction. I am hoping that Fortuner will also earn the same response from the audience, as they are both unique in their own way. I am happy that everything is falling into place. I am equally excited with the new lease of life for which I have started right from the scratch,” says Diganth Manchale.
After, Katheyondu, Diganth also awaits a release starring alongside Sonu Gowda of the Gultoo fame. “Even this film is unique. For the first time in my career, I am playing the role of someone who gets married right at the beginning of the film. It is a fun-filled family drama, which talks about marriage and relationships, especially ones based on ‘lies,’” he adds.
Talking about marriage, he says that he is hopeful that he will marry his best friend Aindrita Ray in December this year.
About the freak incident, Diganth shares that the incident almost made him blind in his right eye, which is still blurry. “It happened during the shooting of my Hindi film when my co-star threw a stiletto at me. The scene was simple as she was suppose to throw it at me, but when the director took time to end the scene, the actress got creative and threw the stiletto! Had I known she was going to, I would have surely dodged it. It did serious damage, and I was later operated with stitches on my cornea, and even some parts near my retina. Unless a medical breakthrough happens, I am left with one eye vision,” he reveals.
The cheerful actor see this in a positive light, thinking about the 25 percent population globally who have vision in just one eye.
On his big break in Bollywood, he says, “The incident stalled the Hindi movie. If not for the director, I wouldn’t have done Chowka too. My eyes were red, and I had great discomfort while shooting. Now, fortunately things are starting to happen again. I have signed Kunal Kohli’s film Ramayana where I play Lord Ram. It is being made in English and Hindi. A lot of big names will be a part of it,” he says, revealing that he has also signed another one in Kannada which will be directed by Simple Suni, and will take off after the director’s Bazaar project.
