Director MG Srinivas has been selective about his star cast for his next venture, Old Monk. The director, who is also playing the lead in the romantic drama, has now decided to bring on board Malayalam and Hindi actor Sudev Nair. The Kerala State Award-winning actor will be foraying into Sandalwood as a villain and will be seen in a face-off against Srinivas in Old Monk. The actor-director, who was looking for a fresh face to play the antagonist, says Sudev Nair fit the bill the most.
“We were looking for an actor who has a great physique, who could be more powerful than the hero. This romcom has a political line, for which I wanted somebody who can carry the role of an ex-politician’s son who has political aspirations. I thought he suited the part. Sudev Nair also made an effort to go through the script, which was in Kannada, and he was convincing in his screen test.
He is now a part of the film,” says Srinivas. Sudev has been featured in India’s Most Wanted, which starred Arjun Kapoor, and was also a part of Gulaab Gang. This apart, Sudev was also part of webseries -- Not Fit for the Viral Fever and Dice Media, in which he also played the lead. His other works in Malayalam include Anarkali, Karinkunnam 6’S, Sleeplessly Yours, and Ezra.
Old Monk will also bring back S Narayan in a pivotal role. The director-actor will be back on the silver screen after five years. Joining the team will also be Aruna Balraj. The romantic drama will have music composed by director Saurabh Vaibhav, while Bharath Parashuram will handle cinematography.
The director, who hopes to resume shooting by mid-August, says he has ample time to work on his script. “I am ready with the story, screenplay and the star cast, and now, I will have to plan how shooting can be started with various safety measures in place. In this situation, we can’t shoot sequences showing crowds, and we are hoping to start with small sequences,” he says.
Srinivas is also busy with writing the script for Birbal sequel. “My last outing, Birbal trilogy Case No 1, Finding Vajramuni, is now getting a good response on the OTT platform. This has prompted me to work on the sequel -- Avrn bitt Ivran bitt avryaru,” he reveals.