Like father, like son!

While in father’s footsteps, the son is making his own mark through many challenging roles, says Srikanth Srinivasa, after meeting the duo -- Lohitaswa and Sharath

The father and son both have deep voices that leave an impression on you. While the father had been typecast either as a chief minister in at least 60 to 70 films or a sophisticated villain in many others, his son has come into his own recently as an actor who fits into all kinds of roles excepting the fact that he is not playing the conventional role of a hero. 

Father Lohitaswa, a retired English Professor had been an active theatre person (Kathale Daari Doora, Huliya Neralu, 27, Mavalli Circle being his most popular plays) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Today, he is away from theatre and cinema activities but is acting in a few teleserials like Girish Kasaravalli’s Grihabhanga and Ravikiran’s Spandana, besides participating in seminars and giving talks on burning issues. 

Says Lohitaswa, “There’s nothing much happening in theatre these days. We are seeing one-(wo)man shows on stage and can no longer be regarded as an instrument of social and political change. In today’s environment, it is difficult to have repeat shows on stage. Earlier, if theatre was a passion, today it has turned into a fashion. Amateur theatre is more entertainment-oriented than message-oriented. Of course, television promises more money to youngsters which is why we see more one-man shows and less team involvement.” 

Son Sharatchandra, popularly known as Sharath, had been waiting for a long time to get a pat from his father for his performances on stage. Things changed for Sharath after Prasanna’s play Nanna Thangige Ondu Gandu Kodi. 

Says Lohitaswa, “Sharath gave a memorable performance in Prasanna’s play. I have begun to like his performances on stage and on screen. I am happy that he has been portraying roles effectively especially in the movies that I saw recently – Singaravva and Paris Pranaya.”

Sharath has embraced acting as a full-time profession. He prefers negative roles to the goody goody ones because he believes that they offer him more scope to perform. Sharath has a post-graduate degree just like his father. He got into teaching English at National College, Basavanagudi as a part-time lecturer. Before boredom and monotony could get to him, he quit the job and decided to become an actor. 

Says he, “I was offered the role of Huliya for which I was supposed to sport a funny haircut. After that, I could not go into teaching again. The roles that I was offered after Huliya were repetitive. I got fed up. Fortunately or unfortunately, I met with an accident and was forced to off work for at least two to three years. Godhuli came as a major break in my career.” 

Sharath won a lot of accolades for effectively portraying the role of Cheluvanayaka in Gurudutt’s Godhuli (directed by Sunil Kumar Singh), which also won him the Aryabhatta award. Says Sharath with a smile, “People from young ones to old started recognising me as Cheluvanayaka. People were surprised to see me as a young man as soon as I removed the mask. Thanks to Director Sunil Kumar Singh who waited for me to sign me on for this role. 

Before this, I had done the role of a 60-year-old man in Chaitanya’s play Vasamsi Jeernani (based on a Marathi drama) which is what prompted him to ask me for this role.” Sharath says he plays the role of a 50-year-old in Parva opposite Tara after playing a 80-year-old in Godhuli. “There’s a generation change. I hope I will be playing my age in the future. This does not mean that I will not accept such challenging roles.”