After Sharan and Komal, Chikkanna will be yet another comedian to join the hero bandwagon. His debut venture will be produced under the banner of Umapathy Films, who is currently bankrolling projects like Roberrt and MadaGaja. Chikkanna’s yet-to-be-titled film will be helmed by director Manju Mandavya. Both Chikkanna and Manju are currently associated with the latter’s project, Sri Bharatha Baahubali, a film that has the director also turning actor with Chikkanna playing the parallel lead.
Close to nine years of being in tinsel town, the actor, who received praise for his acting in Yash starrer Raja Huli and Adhyaksha-starring Sharan, will now challenge himself as the hero. Manju confirmed the collaboration and said he is more than happy to helm Chikanna’s launch as a hero.
“It will be a content-based film with a message. We have come up with a storyline that does not deviate from Chikkanna’s on screen persona and he will continue to entertain the audience with humour. At the same time, the film will explore his role as a hero,” reveals the director, who plans to kick start the project sometime in October. “I am currently concentrating on my next release, Sri Bharatha Baahubali, while the producer’s current focus is Roberrt. Chikkanna too will be taking sometime to prepare himself as a hero. Keeping all this in mind, we have decided to begin the preparation now and start the project in October,” he says.
Comedians turning heroes is not new in Kannada film industry and the best example of this is Sharan, who started his journey as a hero with his hundredth film, Rambo. Even actor Komal established himself as a comedian until he turned hero in Pavan Wadeyar’s Govindaya Namaha. The news of Chikkanna turning hero has been in the news for quite some time.
In a previous interview with CE, the actor, who has kept the audience in splits with his witty one-liners and wisecracks, revealed that he also loved playing negative roles. Having worked in 60-odd films as a comedian, he is now all set to turn hero and entertain the audience at the box office.