The great sibling revelry in Sandalwood

Karan Johar would approve. Like his movie themes, in Sandalwood too, the family that lives together acts together. If the industry’s most-wanted actor had had his way, Puneet would’ve been a business magnate.
So, if I’m an actor today, I owe it to my brothers,” says Appu, adding, “My father is my biggest inspiration. Even though I’ve done a couple of films as a child actor with him, I wanted to look after our production house or get into the construction business.But it was Shivanna and Raghanna, who encouraged me to become a hero,” confesses Puneet. He adds, “I’m a huge fan of Shivanna’s Om and Raghanna’s Nanjundi Kalyana. They were my fans even before I became an actor,” he smiles.
“When Srimurali wanted to take up acting, I was happy for him,” says elder brother Vijay Raghavendra. “We found what a good actor he is right at the beginning — his debut, Chandrachakori, did so well,” says Vijay, pointing out that comedy and sentiment, two of the most difficult emotions to portray on screen, are Srimurali’s forte. “When you enter the industry, there’s no question of being siblings or not. It’s about how good you are,” says Vijay. Having also done a movie, Minchina Ota, together, Vijay says it’s such ventures that bring them closer as brothers.
While Rajendra Singh Babu is known for his directorial abilities, son Aditya chose to become an actor. And now, AD’s youngest sister, Risheeka, has chosen to follow in his footsteps. “Although anna was initially wary about me entering movies, once I decided to become an actress, he was supportive. Right from advising me to go to Mumbai to shoot my first portfolio, to enlisting the best make-up artistes, he personally oversaw all the details,” says Risheeka. The protective brother trait does show up sometimes, she laughs. “He isn’t overly possessive. But while I was shooting in Mysore recently, he’d call me to check if all was well and even came on the sets sometimes,” she says.
Directors wait for casting coups where they can have siblings in their films. Like how Dayal recently roped in Pooja and Radhika Gandhi for Harikathe. “The masses always wait for something new on screen. This is a gimmick we use to pique their interest,” he tells us. So, when Pooja mouthed lines like ‘Naanu ninna akkana thara anko’ to Radhika, audiences loved it. “Anything with an element of reality always enhances the value of a film,” wraps up Dayal.
Follow us on Twitter for more stories