Athanakkode, the hit Telugu film of 2005, will see a completely altered narrative as well as look, with director R Chandru wanting to give the film a local feel in the Kannada version titled Lakshmana.
According to the director, H M Revanna had taken the rights of the film long ago and was keen that his son, Anup, reprises the role of Kalyan Ram in the film.
“Revanna had approached many directors but finally decided upon me. He is well aware of Kannada films and the significance of incorporating our language and culture in stories. So while Lakshmana picks the essence of Athanokkade, it will have a fresh feeling. In fact, this is one of the reasons for spending more time on the project since I had to place the narrative between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. I went ahead with the film only after Anup’s father was convinced,” explains Chandru.
The director has almost completed the talky portions and is now waiting to start the climax shoot for which he has sought dates from stunt choreographer Ravi Varma. “There will be a lot of artistes for the climax shoot and we are looking for a special location. The film has 20 more days of work after which I will concentrate on post production activities,” he says.
Apart from Anup, the film stars Meghana Raj and Ravichandran.
Rumour is that the budget of the film is around `8 crore and that Chandru has been given a handsome payment. The director diplomatically clarifies, “Revanna is my relative and has considered not to compromise on the film in any way and has sanctioned a good budget.”
R Chandru’s last film in Kannada as a director was Brahma, and he remade Charminar in Telugu as Krishnamma Kalipindi Iddarini. Meanwhile, he also produced Male starring Prem and Amulya.