Five days into the shooting schedule of Manoranjan starrer Chillum, which was done in Bengaluru, and J Chandrakala is excited about how the project has kicked off. The female director, who believes that a film made with a unique formula can work wonders, seems to be heading in the right direction.
With Priyanka Thimmesh as the female lead, the film has a good cast, especially with Raghavendra Rajkumar making a comeback as a villain along with Bollywood actor Nana Patekar in a pivotal role. Another added attraction is said to be Suman Ranganath’s character.
The team is getting ready to start the next schedule, which resumes in Mysuru from Thursday and have revealed the first look from the film. City Express has gotten hold of a few stills from Chillum, in which Manoranjan is seen flaunting his ‘bad boy’ makeover, complete with shiny guns, messy hair and rugged beard. The movie, that revolves around the drug mafia, has the actor playing Guru, and the stills prove that he has cracked this character down to a T.
In the pictures, the actor is seen sporting a Trishul - tattoo and smoking Chillum, apt to the title. His looks have only upped the expectation among the audience. It’s hard to believe that this is the same hero who starred in Saheba and Bruhaspati. “Though we spent just a few days on the sets, I can say with confidence that he is a director’s actor. He doesn’t have an air about being a star’s son. The confidence he showed while agreeing to be part of the film has only doubled when shooting started. He understands what the role demands, and has been delivering my vision in every shot,” says Chandrakala, adding, “As a director, this has only brought out more enthusiasm in me.
All the artistes on the sets for Chillum are completely surrendering to their respective characters, and this includes actors such as Devaraj, and even those playing the vital roles of Manoranjan’s screen friends — Diwakar, Raghav Nath, Sandeep and BharathChandrakala also mentions that cinematographer Naveen Kumar is keeping her on her toes. “Our rapport seems to be working well, and each time I look at the monitor, its’s like the making of an English movie,” she says.
The film, which will be an action-packed drama, gets a vintage backdrop with a few scenes shot at a set created at Minivera Mills. They will now be shooting a few portions in and around the palaces of Mysuru. “We will later head to Chikkamagaluru and Goa. We also plan to explore a new destination, which will be confirmed in the coming days,” she tells us.Going by all this, it seems like there are a lot of surprises in store for Chillum.