Radhika Kumaraswamy-starrer Damayanti, directed and produced by Navarasan, has already generated a lot of buzz with its posters and trailers. Now, the horror-comedy is making its way to the theatres on November 29 in Kannada, which will be followed by the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam versions on December 6.
Ahead of the release, the director has revealed another interesting fact from the film. The story, set from 1980 and to the present, has Radhika Kumaraswamy playing the role of a doctor.
“The present will see her as a ghost, Damayanti, while the doctor will come in the flashback episode,” says the director, who is also a distributor, actor, producer, and director.
“I trained at Koothupattarai Institute in Chennai for three years where I learned the art of direction and acting, which has now come in handy. I started distribution in 2008, and later marked my acting debut in Tamil, followed by the Kannada film, Raakshasi. I gained experience in various departments, which made me understand my capabilities, and I decided to test waters as a director with Vaira. The film was made with a shoestring budget, and I received good feedback. That gave me the confidence to come up with a big budget film like Damayanti,” says Navarasan, who has also written the story and screenplay of the film. “Masti and I have jointly written the film’s dialogues for Damayanti,” he says.
Radhika Kumaraswamy caught his attention in a jewellery ad, and he decided to cast her in the film. “I was sure she could be moulded into the character of Damayanti, and approached her. Since it was more like a comeback film for her, she was particular about the project that she wanted to be a part of. It was after listening to the script that she decided to prioritise our project over others,” he says.
The film, which comes with 25 minutes of graphics, will feature veteran actor GK Reddy, in addition to Sadhu Kokila, Tabla Nani, Vijay Chendoor, Kempegowda, Pavan and Karthik.