For Dr N Narasimha Murthy, the writer, producer and actor in a key role, the story of Common Man began not as a commercial film venture, but as an offhand birthday quip. When a friend teased him about what grand gift he planned to offer, Narasimha Murthy jokingly retorted that he would gift him the Vidhana Soudha.
“My friend asked if the Vidhana Soudha belonged to my father,” Narasimha Murthy recalls with amusement. “I replied, ‘No, it belongs to us, the citizens and taxpayers.’ What started as banter lingered in my mind. I began expanding on that thought: if citizens truly own public property, what happens when they demand their rightful share?”
A former theatre actor who spent decades in the telecom department after an early directorial attempt stalled in 1990, Narasimha Murthy found his return to cinema through this idea. Backed under his banner Surabhi Films, the project is helmed by veteran director Om Sai Prakash, marking his 106th film.
“When I took the outline to Sai Prakash sir, he saw the potential instantly,” shares Narasimha Murthy, who also plays the antagonist Chief Minister alongside lead actor Gowri Shankar. “He wove it into a screenplay about an ordinary man who steps into governance and takes on corruption.”
The film features cinematography handled by JJ Krishna and Deepak, with music by Vinay Chandra. The film has Shona Ladva playing the female lead alongside veteran actors Ashok, Ramesh Bhat, Bala Rajawadi, and Prakash Thuminad in pivotal roles. Common Man is slated for release on September 25.