Sandalwood has been privy to a particular “dynamic” style of acting for three decades — It started with senior actor Devaraj making his debut in the mid 80s, creating his own niche with supporting roles, as a villain, and eventually as a “Dynamic Hero” with a special talent in portraying cop roles on the silver screen.
Later, his eldest son “Dynamic Prince” Prajwal Devaraj hit a Sixer with his debut, and now has a legacy of 25 films to his credit, so far. This “dynamic” legacy continues with the younger son of Devaraj Sir — Pranam Devaraj making his debut. He speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about his debut venture Kumari 21 F,
“I have always dreamt of acting — it was also an obvious choice with two good actors in my family. However, everything started coming together in the past two years, when I finally decided to get into acting mode. My family and I were in search of a sensible script for my debut when I heard of the Telugu remake Kumari 21 F, and once my father was happy with its subject matter and scope, that offered me a chance to portray a challenging role on the screen for the first time, we decided to do the film,” says Pranam.
In fact, the debutant reveals that the “dynamic” family was keen to launch him with their home banner, which recently produced the film Neenade Naa starring Prajwal Devaraj in the lead. However, with a such a good subject, Pranam said yes to Kumari 21 F anyway. “My father was keen to launch me with our home banner. But when such a good opportunity came my way, he felt it was time for me to make my debut. There are other plans which will happen in the future under our home banner,” he adds.
Insofar as as his debut is concerned, Pranam reveals that he has been sprucing up his talent for sometime now — learning various forms of dance since his younger days, and he has also learnt the art of kick-boxing in the past two years.
“I have been training to be physically fit, though in terms of acting, I did not take any acting course. Now that the film has been launched, and the shooting is in progress, I feel very comfortable before the camera, since I have been brought up on the sets thanks to my father and elder brother. My mother is very happy with the film too. It was the first time I was alone on the sets, and it was wonderful working with director Sriman, a talented mind who has worked as assistant to greats like Raj Mouli,” he adds.
He reveals that it was his father’s close friend Bhima Reddy who referred him for the film. “He had seen me for some time, and felt that the film was best for my debut. There will hardly be any change in the Kannada version thanks to the wonderful subject which does not require any major adaptation. I play the character of an immature guy from a middle class family who is insecure, and how falling in love changes him. Frankly, the acting part was quite easy as I have long observed my father and my brother performing live on the sets. I use to ask questions, and they would help me understand the process,” says Pranam, a BBM graduate.
Unlike his elder brother who is a huge fan of Archie Comics and loves biking, and is usually seen heading out with a gang of his friends for long distance cruises on their motorbikes, Pranam loves photography and also is quite the adrenaline adventure junkie. Quite a dynamic star in the making, we think!
