He may have conquered the screen with his strong role as Kalki in Simple Suni’s Bazaar. But, in person, Dhanveerrah Gowda is shy and very quiet. The young actor looks like the truth of his fame is yet to sink in.

Dhanveerrah, who started out as a theatre performer during his school days was soon bitten by the film bug. His passion for theatre kept him busy after school and college hours. “I did not work with any particular theatre group, but was a part of every kind of theatre — proscenium plays, street plays and those that were staged through the night in rural areas. Finally it was cinema.”

He meticulously planned his entry into films. “I started by watching lots of films. I studied how every character was portrayed and depicted on screen. Finally, I started working on building my body and trained myself in all styles of dance.”

Once he was ready

It was only after he felt he was ready that he started knocking on doors. Luckily, his first knock was on the door of director Simple Suni’s office. “He was looking for a fresh face to launch in his film Bazaar. I happened to be at the right place at the right time,” he says softly with a smile.

In spite of all his preparations, Dhanveerah says he had the jitters when he faced the camera.

Nightmare first shot

“The very first shot was a nightmare. Theatre is a very different medium when compared to films. I was unsure of how much expression I should have on my face. I also was worried if I was overdoing my expressions when the camera was close to me. Suni and the team helped me and put me at ease. We started off by shooting the film’s teaser and by the time we were done, I got a hang of working in front of the camera.”

Dhanveerrah’s next project — a yet to be titled film, produced by Supreeth. was announced at a no-fuss press conference at Renukamba Studios on June 24. Supreeth beamed as he introduced Dhanveerrah as the leading man. “It will be a big film. Once we work on Dhanveerrah’s new look for the film, we will announce its title and introduce you to the cast and crew.”

Dhanveerrah is happy that director Mahesh Kumar of Ayogya fame too has only good words to speak about him during the announcement of his new film. This left the young actor smiling on stage as the cameras went berserk.