Prem, who managed to bring together two big stars — Sudeep and Shivarajkumar — for The Villain has taken his time to prepare for his next project. This time, the director will be launching newcomer, Abhishek Rao, who is Rakshita’s brother, in tinsel town.
Prem took to Twitter to make the announcement. “HAPPY MAHASHIVARATRI to everyone You, the people have always blessed & supported my wife Rakshitha & me.
You are the reason for what we are today. On 31st March, Rakshitha’s bday,we are launching a new face from our family. Please bless & support him the way you have blessed us (sic).”
In conversation with CE, Prem says Abhishek will be the first actor he will be launching from his family. “Abhishek is an engineer, who is trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and got practical experience during the shooting of The Villain. Now, he is camera ready,” he says.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the film will be titled Excuse Me (Prem’s previous film was also titled Excuse Me ). However, the director rubbished it, and said that the team is yet to come up with an interesting title. “The film is based on a true musical love story based on a particular incident,” he said, adding that the music will be scored by Arjun Janya.
Meanwhile, the search is on for a new heroine, and this time, Prem is determined to consider a Sandalwood talent. “A complaint I often hear from movie-goers and the film fraternity is that I prefer heroines from outside. With this film, I want to do things differently, and introduce a girl from Karnataka,” says Prem, who also plans to rope in yesteryear heroes from Bollywood and Kannada for important characters.