When the director-actor relationship goes beyond mentorship, the resulting film is often a standout. And when their relationship becomes cemented by an undetachable bond of friendship, over the years, the film usually becomes an exceptional creation. For director P Vasu and actor Shivarajkumar, both with a successful career spanning three decades, the friendship clicked working together in just one film, Shivalinga. The magic created with wisdom gained through age met was evident with its runaway success.
And now, having built their strong foundation with solid filmmaking acumen, the two men have high regards for each other. They will be coming together for the sequel of their first association apart from another project together titled Robinhood. “I have done eleven films with Prabhu Ganesan, five with Rajinikanth, about ten with Satya Raj, and seven films with Vishnuvardhan. It all worked out with good understanding and I got that same feeling with Shivarajkumar in just one film. His sincerity towards films is truly commendable,” Vasu says and adds that he decided on the sequel for Shivalinga after the tremendous response. “I have told the story to Shivanna and he was happy, even mentioning that the idea is too good, which will be new and challenging for him,” he says.
At present, the director is getting ready with the screenplay. “While Shivanna remains, I will be selecting a few new actors for the sequel. It is yet to be decided whether Vedhika will fit in the sequel,” he says.
Vasu says, Shivarajkumar will reprise the CID official once again and the sequel will take off with a new case without evidence. “The character of Shivarajkumar intends to be left alone because he wants to be happy with his wife and does not want to take the case. But how he deals with it will be the sequel,” Vasu explains.
Meanwhile, the director has plans to make a film with Sudeep and Puneeth Rajkumar. “I have met both of them and discussed films. Puneeth, in fact told me during Shivanna’s daughter’s wedding, ‘You directed my father, my brother and now it is my turn’. I will announce it as and when I have a good story for both of them,” he says.
Raghava Lawerence to play the lead in Shivalinga Remake in Telugu and Tamil
The Tamil and Telugu remake of Shivalinga, to be helmed by P Vasu, will start rolling from June. The director has chosen Raghava Lawrence, who will step into Shivarajkumar’s shoes in the two languages. “We decided on him because he has a market in both Telugu and Tamil. Meanwhile, Vadivelu will make a comeback with this film, playing Sadhu Kokila’s role in Tamil and Brahmanandam will be playing the same role in Telugu. The rest of the actors will be finalised soon,” he stated.