Preetham Gubbi believes that legends tend to leave an iota, if not ounces, of their legendary qualities in the genes of generations that follow. No, wonder, the youngster, who sparked a new trend of scriptwriting with the blockbuster Kannada film Mungaru Male and turned director for the film Haage Summane in 2009, has chosen Prithvi, legendary musician GK Venkatesh’s grandson, for his next film, to be made under Mookambika Creations.
The director himself is the grandson of the legendary Kannada theater artist Gubbi Veeranna and considers casting the youngster in his venture a privilege.
“GK Venkatesh was an icon in the music world. The legend composed music for about 50 of Rajkumar films and is renowned as the guru of Ilayaraja. It is an honour to launch somebody from his family,” he says.
According to him, it was musician V Harikrishna who suggested he take up the film since the musician also belongs to the same family. “Harikrishna’s wife, Vani Harikrishna, is a relative of GK Venkatesh,” reveals the director and adds that the story of the yet-to-be-titled film was written after Preetham met Prithvi six months ago.
“The script was created keeping Prithvi in mind who plays a biker. There will be three motocross race sequences in
the film,” he reveals.
Apparently, for his debut, Prithvi has come prepared, having got trained in theatre acting and sculpting his body by hitting the gym. For his leading lady, Preetham has chosen Malavika Mohanan, daughter of Bollywood cinematographer KU Mohanan. Malavika made her debut with the Malayalam film, Pattam Pole opposite Dulquer Salman and followed it with Nirnnayakam released in 2015. “She is marking her entry into Sandalwood with this film,” he says.
Others who have been confirmed for the film that will roll from September 10 include cinematographer Preetha Jayaraman, who worked with Preetham in the soon to be released Boxer, and stunt choreographer Ravi Varma. V Harikrishna will be the music director. Meanwhile, Preetham is gearing up for the release of Boxer, produced under Jayanna Combines and starring Dhananjay and Kruthika Jayakumar.