Jul 12, 2026 6:14pm IST
Shivarajkumar on Indian Stardom: ‘People Pamper Heroes and Make Us Believe We Look Forever Young’ (EXCLUSIVE)
For nearly four decades, Shivarajkumar has remained one of Kannada cinema’s busiest stars. At 64, with a growing slate of films beyond his home industry, younger filmmakers presenting him in radically different avatars and a documentary chronicling his battle with cancer, the actor believes the next phase of his career must be about exploration rather than preserving the illusion of eternal youth.
Change is constant
“People here pamper heroes and instill a false arrogance in us, making us believe we look forever young,” Shivarajkumar tells Variety India, tersely adding, “There is a set of films that we can do for that, but we cannot ignore reality.”
“We must accept the truth. Death is as much a reality as birth. Take my brother Puneeth Rajkumar’s passing at 46, for example. Is that an age for him to go? Definitely not. But such is life. We cannot live in delusion or denial. We must have no regrets when we are old and frail and cannot do this,” he notes. That willingness to embrace change is increasingly visible in Shivarajkumar’s choice of films.
A Tamil detour
This year, the activity surrounding his birthday reflects a significant new chapter in his career. Observes the actor, “I’ve always had a busy time with announcements, posters and other important events around my birthday throughout my career. This year, I agree, it is a lot more because there are films I am doing outside Kannada, too.”
States Shivarajkumar, “‘Peddi’ was my first, full-fledged role outside Kannada and now, there are more. I’m getting a lot more films from Tamil. I’m doing a beautiful film about a father-son bond with Abishan Jeevinth. The team has crafted something so beautiful that you won’t feel like I am doing something outside Kannada. I play a character called Shanmugam and I cannot wait for people to witness him.” Abhishan and his team have all previously worked on “Tourist Family,”
Tamil cinema represents familiar territory culturally and linguistically for Shivarajkumar. The actor spent part of his formative years in Chennai and is fluent in Tamil, yet it has taken nearly four decades for him to take up a full-fledged role in the industry. He mentions, “I always believe that the time should be right for any such things and until then, nothing will make a difference. Take Yash and ‘KGF’ or Rishab Shetty and ‘Kantara.’ It was all about the right time. And at that time, it is not about language, but all about art seamlessly crossing over. Take a look at someone like Rajinikanth Sir, for example. One cannot think of him without Tamil, but his path and origins were different.”
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The world as a workplace
Shivarajkumar believes that the idea of films and stars travelling across linguistic markets predates the contemporary pan-Indian cinema phenomenon. He notes, “Even though my appaji [late matinee idol Dr Rajkumar] didn’t do any films in Tamil, his films were all dubbed and released there. His Bond-style films or even ‘Gandhada Gudi’ were released in Tamil and Malayalam in their dubbed versions.”
He attributes the change to “greater awareness” because of “the easy accessibility through media” today. “Earlier, there was a mystery and a certain suspense around the work that was being done,” he adds.
The appetite for reinvention spills over to and is shaping Shivarajkumar’s Kannada slate, as well. Shares the actor, “I love the get-up and the mood in ‘666 Operation Dream Theatre,’ helmed by Hemanth M. Rao. Similarly, my Kannada film ‘Bail,’ my film with Pavan Wadeyar, has a very new and edgy look. In fact, Sudeep shared that my eyes and expressions in the teaser reminded him of my father.”
The prolific actor continues listing the films he is working on next: “I have another film with R. Chandru which is very different from what we had in ‘Mylari,’ and we are getting together after so many years. There’s ‘A for Anand,’ which starts soon, is the selection of my wife Geetha. Also, I love collaborating with the director M.G. Srinivas. We have a lot of new directors who are all so talented. I want to continue collaborating with such people.”
When less is more
Shivarajkumar saw the possibilities of reinvention first-hand with his appearance in Nelson Dilipkumar’s Rajinikanth-starrer “Jailer.” With limited screen time and barely any dialogue, the cameo became one of the film’s most widely celebrated moments. He notes, “People enjoy everything. For instance, in ‘Jailer,’ where I had a cameo with not much dialogue, people enjoyed just one look and went crazy. I was taken by surprise and when I tried to deduce what could be the reason, everyone just said it was the aura I had.”
But the actor believes the impact of the scene says as much about the evolution of filmmaking as it does about stardom. “I also must acknowledge that if one shot and one little scene can create such an impact, it shows how the industry and the technicality and vision have grown and one must only embrace and adapt to it.”
He is pragmatic about the impermanence of stardom. “If people like you, the fans will put you on a pedestal. If they don’t, they will throw you away. That is the truth and we cannot deny that. My job is to just keep doing work honestly.”
‘Survivor’-speak
That philosophy of survival, gratitude and continuing to work is at the heart of “Survivor,” a documentary chronicling Shivarajkumar’s life, career and journey following his battle with cancer. “It was a superb journey as I have been candid about sharing all my problems that I have faced in life. Right from the head to my legs, I have had many issues that I have faced in my life through my career so far. “I have survived and come back, and there have been a lot of people who have been the reason for my survival. This is my way of showing gratitude to them.”
The actor hopes that sharing the difficult chapters of his life will resonate beyond the story of a movie star. “I also hope that the documentary becomes motivational for people.”
Nearly four decades after his debut as a leading man, Shivarajkumar finds himself at an unusual juncture: firmly established as one of Kannada cinema’s defining stars while increasingly being sought after by filmmakers from other industries.
Yet his philosophy about navigating this new phase of his career remains rooted in accepting change rather than resisting it.
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