16 March 2022
Hyderabad
It has been more than a couple of years since production house Mythri Movie Makers announced a film in the combination of actor Pawan Kalyan and director Harish Shankar. Pandemic aside, Pawan’s other film commitments meant Harish had to wait. For someone whose last film, Gaddalakonda Ganesh, was a super hit, isn’t it too long a wait? “It’s worth the wait for me and audiences as well,” Harish asserts to idlebrain exclusively, insisting that he isn’t bothered about the wait. “Because of the pandemic, most projects got delayed.”
His conversations with Pawan over the script have been satisfying. The former made the box-office smash Gabbar Singh with the latter almost a decade back and naturally there is a great degree of curiosity surrounding Bhavadeeyudu Bhagat Singh. “The conversations have been pretty warm and we both are damn excited about the project. We are looking to start it in June-end. It will be a feast for his fans and for general audience too, it will be a pucca entertainer. It will be filled with his mannerisms and histrionics aided by great music. It will be full meals.”
The screenplay is finished mostly but as is the case with Harish, it’s always a work in progress until final cut as he believes in improvising a lot. “The film is set in the backdrop of Hyderabad. One song written by rapper Pranav Chaganti has been recorded, while one tune has been finalized,” he shares.
As far as the casting goes, Pooja Hegde has been confirmed as the leading lady. “We are trying to rope in Mirzapur fame Pankaj Tripathi for a key role. Then there is Satya (from Gaddalakonda Ganesh) as well,” he responds. Is it true that Pawan will be seen as a Telugu lecturer, while Pooja as an English lecturer? “It’s too early to talk about their roles.”
For the past few weeks, rumours are rife that a leading director is proving to be a stumbling block for this film to take off, rather setting another project for dear friend Pawan to film in the interim due to his past issues with Mythri Movie Makers. “The rumours are bullshit. I’m friends with all the popular directors in the industry and they are all my well-wishers. The rumours are nothing but a handiwork of a couple of folks who want to spice it up,” Harish declares in a firm tone.
Harish is also looking to revive his passion project Daagudu Moothalu, which was in the news four years ago. “It’s a film that is close to my heart. Whenever time permits, I will do it,” he confirms, adding that Mythri Movie Makers will be bankrolling it. “It’s the first story I narrated to them way back in 2018. It couldn’t go to floors back then due to casting. It needs two heroes and two heroines. Its Naveen garu’s and Ravi garu’s favorite subject and they keep asking me when I’m doing it. If everything goes according to plan, maestro Ilaiyaraaja will be rendering tunes for it.”
– NAGARAJ GOUD
