Saloni Aswani, who shaked a leg with actor Vikram in the song Villadhi Villain in Rajapattai, has signed her next Kannda film, Basavanna, directed by by Srinivas Raju. Having already worked with Upendra in Dubai Babu and Buddivanta, she was the favourite to play the lead opposite Uppi.
Director Srinivas Raju confirmed the news saying Saloni would be joining the crew in Europe on July 10.
“I share a certain comfort level with Uppi and he being a fantastic director, his guidance will only add more value. Secondly, my role is peppy, similar to what I have done in Buddivantha. After having played the lead in the female-oriented Telugu film, Ammai, I was looking for some bubbly and fun-loving character. So when Uppi himself called to check out on my dates and told me about my role, I signed up instantly. Now that we are paired in this movie again, I hope the film clicks like Buddhivanta,” she says.
Is Saloni fine with sharing the screen space with Ragini, the other female lead? “As actors, we do enquire about other stars working in the film. I took up the film only after I was satisfied with my role. As I said, I deliberately chose to play the bubbly role. I am paired opposite Uppi and that is what matters. Sometimes, you pick up a role for the subject and the team you will be associating with,” explains Saloni, who is aware of the director’s achievement with his last film Dandupalya (Karimedu in Tamil). “It was the script and Srinivas’s vision that made Dandupalya a hit in Kannada and ran successfully for 50 days in Telugu too. With Basavanna, he will now be shaping his second film which is all set to mould the characters too,” she says.
Saloni has not signed any other project in Kannada. “My mother was unwell and I had to be by her side. Now that she is recovering, I have to make up for the lost time,” says Saloni.