Over the years, producer Rockline Venkatesh has developed the knack of finding the heart of a movie as well as he understands where to put his money.
When he purchased the rights for remaking Marathi blockbuster Sairat in all four South Indian languages, he knew the heart of the original lay in the music, the narration and the 16-year-old heroine, Rinku Rajguru.
So when he decided to team up with Kannada film director S Narayan, the two did not want to compromise while selecting the leading lady.
After auditioning over 2,000 artistes across Karnataka, many with a theatre background, the makers were left unimpressed. So, to retain the punch of the original, the duo approached Rinku.
“Rinku did not act, she lived the role. Performances of all the 2,000 girls I auditioned last week fade in comparison. We didn’t want to leave room for regret, so we plan to bring her in. We have approached the actress and are waiting for a green signal,” says Narayan.
The director reveals that the music directors Ajay-Atul, who composed for the Marathi film, will be working for the Kannada project too.
“The search for the hero is still on. We have organised a separate audition for the hero as well as other artistes, and will be finalising them as early as possible,” says Narayan, who will be directing his 50th film with the remake, after having walked out of the recent project JD.