Not long ago, City Express had reported that the most-wanted stunt master in the South and Hindi industry, Ravi Verma, was keen to venture into direction. And this desire has finally been realised as Ravi is all set to create history in Sandalwood by bringing together brothers Shivarajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar on screen. Though many have tried get the duo together for a film, only Ravi has been successful so far. According to the first-time director, Jayanna has made this dream casting possible by investing money into this big-budget film. The stunt director is currently in Ahmedabad to finalise locations for Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film Raees for which he will choreograph the action sequences. Verma says that he will hopefully start his extremely special debut directorial venture in the second half of 2015. “Over the last four months I have been preparing for Shah Rukh Khan’s film which starts rolling from March. I have heard the story and am now working on the fights. Meanwhile both Shivarajkumar and Puneeth will be completing their prior commitments before we can all come together for this film,” he says.
Ravi who was ready with his story was just waiting for the right casting and to his advantage, both the brothers heard the script and liked their characters almost immediately. According to Ravi, both Shivarajkumar and Puneeth have equal importance in his film which will feature a little bit of history. “Now that the story is set, I will soon start looking for an apt title and finalising the rest of the cast. Though it is too early to reveal the plot, I am confident that the many fans of Shivarajkumar and Puneeth will be happy with the story and the way I will be projecting both of them on screen,” he explains.
In fact Ravi wanted to push his story only if he got the right kind of combination as well as the required big investment. “I had people from the Telugu and Hindi industry coming forward to take on my project. I had the opportunity to work with Shah Rukh Khan with the same subject but I had to wait till 2017 for his dates. However, I will definitely remake the film in Telugu or Hindi after completing the Kannada version,” says Ravi, adding, “I wrote this story keeping good Indian actors and a national audience in mind and there will be no compromises made. This film will stand on the same platform as other big regional films in terms of its budget and execution.”
Managing to bag this rarest combination is a feather in this debut director’s hat and will make his film one of the most highly anticipated films of the coming year. For Ravi who was recently awarded the title Sahasa Sarvabahuma, this film will only be a booster.
Jayanna’s wish gets fulfilled
Producer Jayanna is looking forward to make the film on what is touted as the highest budget in the Kannada industry till date. “I am happy to be part of the film that will bring these prominent actors on screen together. When Ravi Verma narrated the script to both the actors, and told them that I would be investing in the project, that seemed to convince them even further about the strength of the film. Now that both have agreed, we plan to go on floors in June or July. I always wanted to work with Shivarajkumar and now that everything has worked out, I will go all out for the film,” he says.