Santosh is back with his second film as hero

A year after the debacle that was his debut as a solo hero, Nooru Janmakku, actor Santosh is back with Mallinga -- a film that he calls a mass entertainer.
And this, he says, will also be the movie that will hopefully catapult him to the big league. "Nooru Janmakku pushed me from being the second hero, to being the protagonist. It was a wonderful learning experience, but unfortunately the film didn't do well, especially in the smaller centres.
But despite that, I received immense recognition, especially because of the lovely tunes the film had. In the year since Nooru... I have been working on several aspects of being an actor, be it dance, fight, etc. Thankfully, the script of Mallinga expects me to use all these newly-acquired skills," says Santosh. The actor adds that beside working on these skills, he also had to change his look in terms of hairstyle and even sport a moustache, to make the role of a mass hero more more believable. "As an actor, Mallinga will surely be a challenge in terms of performance," he says.
The film, which starts rolling in Bangalore on Friday, will be directed by Sanjay (of Hudugatta and Parichaya fame) and will have music by Jassie Gift. Model and actress Mythriya plays Santosh's love interest.