Acting is about finding yourself: Shreyas Manju

Shreyas will be among the youngest crop of actors to debut in Sandalwood in 2018. He carries the surname Manju, from his well-known producer father, but the young actor has made every effort to ready himself for the camera.

Shreyas’ debut launch will be Guru Despande’s Paddehuli. In his first-ever, candid interview with City Express, he talks about his preparation for his films,  training, mentors and bonding with late Vishnuvardhan while growing up.

Offers are pouring in for the young actor from various quarters, and this is definitely a good head start. “People expect more from me than they would from a regular person. I respect their love for me, which I shall always bear in mind, I need to focus on my career,” he says.

When did he start planning his career in this industry?

“It was after my second PUC… my interest in studies started waning and I thought, ‘why not try the films’. Indrajit Lankesh suggested this to me. Then, I was 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighed 91 kg. My dad told Indrajit that I can’t become an actor only because I am his son, that I need talent to be one. I have been part of plays in school, but I never imagined myself to be part of the big screen,” he says.

Shreyas takes his career seriously and is investing time in bettering himself in its every aspect. “I started with working on my physique and the first step was to lose weight. Later I met Rangayana Raghu’s wife Mangala and signed up for a course in drama. Then, I went to Vizag and trained at Satyanand Film Institute, where actors such as Prabhas and Mahesh Babu had trained. Here, there were lessons in various art forms.

In Bengaluru, I started learning about mythological characters, especially that of Mahabharatha, which was also full of practical wisdom. Then, I trained in the technical aspects of acting at Adishakti Theatre in Puducherry, where they taught me methods of expression, Kallari, underwater breath expression and so on. Years of training will help me in the long run,” he says.

He is happy to be part of this wave of young actors, some who are star kids and others who will be entering the industry with no godfather. “The learning and unlearning will be easy with competition. I want to meet and greet all of them. Like it happens in Bollywood, I want all of us partying under one roof,” says Shreyas.

He personally likes the kind of action movies Jack Chan does, and wants to do what Tiger Shroff has done in Bollywood. “I would like to play lead in comedies and romcoms,” he says.
Now young directors are working with fresh talents, who are also helping in developing scripts. He says, “I approach this industry not as an actor, but as a learner.

Basically, I like scriptwriting and have worked with writers on the scripts. I have sat with them continuously for three months to learn how they develop a script. I have realised that I may be able to write scripts easily. I am, at times, sarcastic. My humour is spontaneous and many have appreciated this talent in me and have come up with interesting one-liners, which match my persona,” he says.

He is familiar with the industry and knows the who’s who of Sandalwood, courtesy his father K Manju, and says that he found mentors in Sudeep, Yash and Radhika Pandit. “That is because I have worked with them at times, along with my father. I used to visit the sets of their films and even had an opportunity to work for a schedule in one of Sudeep’s projects Hebbuli. I got to observe their attitude towards cinema and they have been my teachers for long,” he says.

But, it is Vishnuvardhan’s films he grew up watching and they inspire him the most. “Vishnuvardhan uncle was a good friend of my father’s and, having been his neighbour, I was privileged to spend some little time with him, during my childhood. I still remember how appa used to complain about me, and he would call and advise me and guide me. Once he even put me through an abs test. He did 25 crunches and I could manage only three. His fans had tagged him ‘as man of million hearts’ and I understand why, having seen him in such close quarters,” he says.

What is one advice of Vishnuvardhan’s he would follow in his acting career? “He had said that acting is about finding who you and only then can you become another person,” says Shreyas, adding, “he also told me to try meditation for its positive vibes.”