Dhananjay to play MP Jayaraj, Bengaluru’s first underworld don
Stories revolving around the underworld and mafia seem to be the flavour of the season for Sandalwood filmmakers. While Upendra-starrer Kabza, directed by R Chandru, deals with an underworld subject, an upcoming project starring Dhananjay will be another addition to the line-up.
The actor, who rose to fame with the character of Daali in Tagaru, has created further buzz as Seena in Suri’s upcoming Popcorn Monkey Tiger.
He is now set to play Bengaluru’s first underworld don in a biopic on the life of MP Jayaraj. Earlier, news had made the rounds of actors like Shivarajkumar and Upendrawill playing MP Jayaraj’s role.
However, the project has now fallen in Dhananjay’s kitty, since he is currently in demand for such characters. This will be the actor’s second biopic, after Allama Prabhu.
The film marks the directorial debut of Shoonya. It is a period drama set in the 1970s and will also see the return of Agni Shridhar.
The director of Thamassu and writer of films like AA Dinagalu, Edegarike and screenplay for Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu has written the script and dialogues of this yet-to-be-titled film, which will be produced by Ashu Bedra.
An official announcement was made by the team on Monday, and preparations are underway to start the project in June.
Another interesting fact about this biopic is that the story also includes an episode about politician, Devaraj Urs, a role for which the makers are looking for a suitable actor.
Taking a cue from the KGF series, they are planning to make the film as a 2-part series, and are also looking for a pan-India reach.
The biopic on MP Jayaraj is likely to be released in the four south Indian languages and Hindi.