Meghna Patel needs no introduction. The small time-model turned actress grabbed eyeballs when she posed with lotuses all over her body and a placard seeking support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. While the photographs of Meghna went viral on social media, it also caught the attention of Kannada director Trishul. Now, Trishul has roped in Meghna for a bilingual project in Kannada and Telugu. Trishul’s previous film Silk - Sakkath Hot Maga also made lot of news because of Veena Malik and the title. Ask Trishul of his attraction towards glamorous heroines, and he says, “I was looking for a glamourous heroine who is popular. I had finalised a Kannada heroine for this film, but had to drop her in the last minute as I didn’t get a sincere response. Remuneration was also one of the reasons. Since the film is being done in both Kannada and Telugu, we decided to go for Meghna, as she is a noted face all over India,” says Trishul.
Meghna was impressed with Trishul’s story, which is a comedy flick with a message. Meghna posed on a bed of roses for a photoshoot for the film. The film is titled Gundu + Rao in Kannada and Thagubothudu in Telugu.
Meghna will start shooting in Bengaluru from February 19. “The film focuses on how women are suffering at the hands of their drunken husbands. Meghna watched my previous film Silk... and she liked the way I had brought out a message in it, with Veena Malik in the picture. She expressed to be part of the project that sends a universal message across to viewers,” says Trishul.
Thagobothu Ramesh is paired opposite Meghna in both the Telugu and Kannada films. Trishul, who is shooting the film in two languages at the same time, has changed a few lines for the Telugu version. “We will have the muhurath for the Telugu project on January 25. The supporting starcast will be different in each film. Sadhu Kokila, Shakeela and a few others will be part of the Kannada project, while I will be choosing different artistes for Telugu. Ali (Telugu actor) will be seen in both the languages,” he says. “Eighty per cent of the shoot will be done in Bengaluru and 10 per cent in Hyderabad. We also plan to go abroad. For Telugu, we plan to shoot in major portions of Hyderabad,” he says.