Raaga is an experience of a lifetime: Mithra

After years in theatre and dabbling with stage shows as a stand-up comedy artiste, and then progressing to TV serials and films, popular comedian Mithra turns leading man in his own production, the Kannada film Raaga. Despite not having elements of a stereotypical commercial potboiler and him not playing a larger-than-life hero, the film, says Mithra, is very commercial at heart. Getting into the skin of the character required the funnyman to do a lot of unlearning, and today, he calls it god’s gift.In a quick chat with us, he talks about what pushed him to turn to production, why the role in Raaga is special to him and lots more. Excerpts...From monotony to a passion-driven RaagaI am a theatre artiste and have done no less than 600 stage shows, including stand-up comedy. I have also worked on umpteen television serials and about 105 movies. My work in films has predominantly been for humour relief and, usually, the comedy characters I got were meant to mouth double entendre lines to give audiences a quick laugh. Initially, I found the work interesting, but over years of doing the same thing over and over again, I began to find it monotonous and wanted a break from it. Also, with my kids growing up, I began wondering what kind of work legacy I was leaving behind. I was toying with the idea of venturing into film production and had once told director (PC) Shekar, with whom I had worked on Romeo, Chaddi Dosth and Style King, that I want him to make a film for me. I love his passion towards movies. He is very dedicated, he is not like regular filmmaker and has a certain lateral thinking that I like. Then, one day, Shekar came to my house and narrated the story of Raaga, as a film that he intended to make under his own banner. I loved the story, but was not sure what role he meant for me. That's when he said that he wants a hero who is not hero material. He was looking for a short, dark man and said that I was among the most bad-looking people he knew in the industry, and, hence, that I would be perfect for the role.I was so touched by the story that I wanted to make it myself and got Shekar to agree to be only director on the projectDays of unlearning and learningPlaying the lead in Raaga was far from a cakewalk. For starters, Shekar wanted me to shed a lot of weight. The most difficult bit, though, was unlearning my onscreen body language from years of doing comedy. Shekar literally treated me like a newcomer who had no idea about acting and kept spoon-feeding me to get exactly what he wanted to be seen onscreen. There were days when he would give me certain scenes, ask me to rehearse and shoot videos of the same that I had to send to him before we actually shot those sequences. Initially, I was a little embarrassed at being treated like a novice, but then I took it as a challenge and the result is for all the see when the film releases. I had three major challenges on this film. For starters, am a newbie producer who set out to make a passion-driven film with my own savings and money borrowed from well-meaning friends. Second, I had to get rid of the image that I had cultivated as a comedian and bring a new Mithra to the screen and third, I had to do justice to the role in a way that would make Shekar proud. I don't think I will ever again get this kind of an experience in my life.Playing a visually-challenged personDespite being blind, my character is the most positive person anyone will come across. What's most interesting about him is that he does not look at his disability as a weakness, but instead makes the most of it. While an able-bodied relies on his eyes for vision, for people who live in darkness, their whole body becomes their vision. Their senses are heightened and they actually see more than most of us do. That is what you see in my character. There is a certain confidence that comes with that and you don't even see him rely on his walking stick for support, except when he is upset or so. Even though I have played the character onscreen, all credit of bringing the character to life belongs to Shekar, who showed me just what to do from frame to frame. Raaga turned out just the way we wantedEven though I had worked with Shekar before, I saw a very different version of him on the set of Raaga. This is a subject that he has been nursing for 14 years and he was so driven and commanding to get the best out of everyone, be it Bhamaa, Avinash, Jai Jagadish or me, among others. We already had all the best technicians onboard, so Shekar only had to focus on ensuring that the cast got their parts right. In fact, when I was dubbing for the role, I thought I was providing my voice to another artiste. Never once did I think it was really me. It will surprise audiences who are used to seeing me in a certain way. People will see a new Mithra with this film, and hopefully a version that they appreciate. I, for one, think this role is god's gift to me and see it as a blessing.