Meet Vijay's brother in Kanaka

He’s pursuing an MS in General Surgery at the Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tummakuru, but acting has always been Dr Darshan’s passion. Duniya Vijay was the reason Darshan hit the gym, so when he got a chance to act alongside him in Kanaka, it was a dream come true for Darshan.

Telling us about how he bagged his debut film, the doctor-actor tells us, “I met the director,

R Chandru

, at a wedding and told him that I am interested in acting. He asked me to send him a video of my acting and was impressed. This was around the time of the unfortunate

Maasthi Gudi

incident. Anil Kumar, who lost his life, was to play Vijay sir’s brother in Kanaka. Chandru sir thought that I resembled Anil and felt that I would be the right person to replace him.”

To look like Anil, though, Darshan had to spend extra time in the gym. “I have been working out for 3-4 years, so I was already in good physical shape. Additionally, Vijay sir told me about several techniques to beef up. Thanks to that, in a span of 3-4 months, I gained 7kgs of pure muscle mass,” says Darshan.

This may be his debut flick, but Darshan is not new to acting. “My family owned a theatre company in Tummakuru when I was young, so I used to act in plays. I lost touch with acting in PUC, but while pursuing MBBS at

Karnataka Institute of Medical Science

, Hubballi, I got back to acting, and took part in several competitions,” he says.

As for his character, all that Darshan can reveal is that he plays a village youth leader, and that Vijay’s character and his are brothers, who share a loving bond.