The Dasara weekend has brought much enthusiasm in the Kannada film industry with some major releases slotted to be timed with the festive holidays.
Jaguar is Nikhil Gowda’s debut
Former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy’s son and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Nikhil Gowda makes his acting debut with Jaguar , their home production directed by Mahadev. It was simultaneously made in Telugu also. Nikhil plays a hacker, and even wears a 14-kg body suit! Most of the film was shot on the Infosys Mysuru campus. The film released on Thursday and fans cannot stop raving about the stunningly shot stunt and action sequences. Apparently Nikhil was very particular that they do not look tacky and should be far from the traditional “hero beats up 10 goons at once” formula. The film stars stalwarts Jagapathi Babu, Brahmanandam, Sadhu Kokila, Sampath Raj, Kavitha Radheshyam, Ramya Krishnan and Avinash among others. Popular actor Tamannaah Bhatia has performed an item number for the film.
Yograj Bhat and Duniya Vijay’s Dana Kayonu
Bhatru’s fans have been waiting for this for a long time. Bhatru (as popular filmmaker Yograj Bhat is fondly referred to) has lived up to his fans’ expectations in his many avatars as director, lyricist, screenwriter ever since his superhit Mungaru Male . Now it is Dana Kayonu , which has been in the making for almost two years. Set in rural Karnataka, Duniya Vijay plays a cowherd who taps in on technology. Priya Mani is the village belle who wants to join the police force. The film also introduces Serbian model-turned-actor Natasha Stankovic. There has been much dilly dallying again over its release -- while it was slated for an October 7 release, there has been a last-minute fight between the movie’s team over financial issues with Bhatru appearing on Kannada TV channels saying he will not release the film. Since the film centres on a cowherd, there are lot of shots involving cattle and CGI. Where there is Duniya Vijay, there are enough action scenes for fans to feast on. The film also features Rangayana Raghu, Chikkanna in the star cast, has V Harikrishna’s music.
Vishnuvardhan and Ramya’s Nagarahavu
Nagarahavu ( Shivanagam in Tamil and Nagabharanam in Telugu) is the fantasy epic that Vishnuvardhan fans have been waiting patiently for. It sees the late star come alive on screen once gain, thanks to technology. The film, through very elaborate computer graphics and modern filmmaking technology has resurrected veteran Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan. The tech work took over three years -- the film’s shoot started in 2011 and then the director took ill too. The film stars Diganth and Ramya in the lead, and has all the making of fantasy -- snakes, ancient kingdoms, rebirth, revenge, drama, love and more.
The film is directed by popular Telugu mythological and fantasy film director Kodi Ramakrishna, who makes his directorial debut in Kannada. Darshan has a surprise cameo. This is the third movie with Nagarahavu in the title in Sandalwood. The first was the 1972 classic, directed by Puttana Kanagal, again starring Vishnuvardhan.
Prakash Raj’s Idolle Ramayana
Kannadigas love the maverick actor Prakash Raj (known as Prakash Rai in Sandalwood). The actor has been on a directing spree and is now back with Idolle Ramayana . With a penchant for multi-linguals and remakes, he has earlier made Naanu Nanna Kanasu , and Oggarane in Kannada. This recent film, a take off from the Malayalam thriller Shutter , boasts five national award winning artists and technicians on board – Prakash Raj, Priyamani, music maestro Ilayaraja, art director Shashidhar Adapa, and editor Srikar Prasad. Senior journalist Jogi has co-written dialogues of this film along with Prakash Raj. Prakash Raj has said he has tapped into characters from the Ramayana to create characters for this film, which portrays the essential mix of good and evil in us. Popular writer Jayant Kaikini has penned the lyrics for one song.
