I relate to the strong message that comes across in our film, March 22

Meet software engineer Sushanth Nalige, who will soon make his debut as Aryavardan — one of the lead actors in this Friday’s Kannada political thriller — March 22. In addition to getting to work with stalwarts like Ananth Nag, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Sharath Lohitashwa and the likes, Arya tells us that he feels honoured to be making his debut with a story about bringing in a change.Here’s what he says of the experience he has gathered…
‘We are the ones who complicate our lives’
In our busy lives, we all tend to get so self-absorbed in the rat race. Everybody is out to get more without really understanding whether they require it or not. The truth, however, is that life is basically very simple. This is something I learnt while shooting this film, when I was exposed to the lives of those who live in regions of North Karnataka. All they work towards is to ensure that they and their families have basic necessities in place and they are so happy doing that. We, on the other hand, have set our own imaginary benchmarks of luxury to our survival — which are not even necessities. The people there made me understand that happiness lies in the basic grassroot level. I knew that theoretically, but there it was a practical learning experience. I used to be a very temperamental guy before I spent two months with people in North Karnataka due to this film. I have come back feeling more calm and connected to what is and should really be one’s set of priorities.
‘I relate to March 22’
It was my father who first identified the actor in me. We started working on our home production Khanana — a story about betrayal, which is yet to be released. It is because of this film that I got the opportunity to work in March 22, which, as it turns out, will mark my debut. Honestly, I could not have dreamt of a better debut. The story is strong, has a message that I relate to and I feel privileged to have got the opportunity to take this story to people through cinema. It is also a youth-oriented film, in which youngsters work towards bringing about change. It is very easy for us to point fingers and talk about what is not right. But the moment you decide that you will make the effort to bring in change, a movement has already begun.
‘Neutral in my own beliefs’
Personally, I do not believe in one particular religion. I am neutral in my beliefs. I avoid talking about which caste or faith I follow or belong to, because I feel that is the beginning of discrimination. I also believe it is important for us to fix our education system in this regard. If a child can grow up without the influence of discriminating one caste against the other, we can cut out one major problem of society even before it takes shape. We need to nurture children as human beings, rather than as those belonging to one caste or the other.
‘Too much to say, in too little time’
Our shoot gave us content for as much as four plus hours, as there is so much to say. But for the screen, we have to follow rules and, therefore, have restricted the duration of the story to a little above two hours. What matters is to spread the message and hope for it to reach as many people, especially youngsters, as possible.