Venky's Vivekananda film in 2012

If there is one film which Venkatesh has been keen on doing for long time now, it is the Vivekananda biopic. For, the actor has been on a spiritual quest himself. The subject offers him the opportunity to derive spiritual gratification, besides helping him set new standards by venturing to play a divine historical personality, and a film which will directed not by a K Raghavendra Rao, but Mani Shankar.

To the uninitiated, Mani Shankar is a popular Bollywood director with a remarkable knack for making distinct cinema (well, he has made a film on black money, which moved the senior BJP leader LK Advani to tears) but he has no hits in his armour. Driven by passion, the hero-director duo is engaged in one of the most amusing projects.

Embarking on an extraordinary journey, Venky is seemingly proud of it. In his interview to IndiaGlitz, he has said that the movie will have inspirational lines. Vivekandana, the great Vedantist, was a prophet whose life continues to inspire even the 21st century Indian. Kudos to Venky for daring to don a challenging role.

It will be interesting to watch him wear the saffron robes and dole out heavy dose lectures with serenity on his role. After he wraps up shooting for SVSC, he is likely to do intense homework for the role - say, by inculcating sattvic habits and immersing himself in spiritual thoughts to attain that inner calmness.