Shooting for Darshan-starrer Raja Veera Madakari Nayaka will resume in August.
Confirming the development, producer Rockline Venkatesh told CE that preparations are going on currently, as he waits for the curbs to be lifted on the entertainment sector post lockdown.
“There is a change of schedule from the initial plan. Instead of the earlier plan of shooting in parts of Rajasthan and then in Bengaluru and Chitradurga, among other places, we have now decided to shoot first in Karnataka and later head to other states,” says the producer.
The first schedule of the historical drama directed by Rajendra Singh Babu was shot in Kerala.
As the team is currently busy with the table work, Rockline has worked out new guidelines, which they will adhere to on the sets.
“First and foremost, I will be setting up a disinfection tunnel, and everyone will have to enter and exit through this.
"We are also be going with the norms of wearing masks, using sanitisers, and maintaining social distancing,” he says, adding, “Along with this, we will also follow the guidelines given by the health department.”
The film, made with a huge budget, will require a huge star cast, and the crew to be present in high numbers.
Ask Rockline Venkatesh whether there be a reduction in staff strength, and he says, “We need to have a certain number of crew members, who are required to do certain jobs, and I can’t prevent it. However, unlike before, we will make sure the place is not crowded. We will reduce the number of people entering the sets. The team will have a detailed discussion on the number of junior artistes or fighters required, and only those will be given entry on the days they have their respective scenes.”
Apart from the lead hero Darshan, and senior actor Sumalatha playing a pivotal role, the production house is yet to finalise on the rest of the cast.
“A few actors including the heroine will be finalised later, because as per plan, they will not be required in the schedule we are planning to resume in August,” he says. The film made under Rockline Entertainers is based on the novel written by BL Venu, has Hamsalekha and Ashok Kashyap as the music director and cinematographer respectively.
We now don’t have anybody like Dr. Rajkumar and Ambareesh in the film industry to look up to during crisis: Rockline Venkatesh.
The cinema industry is waiting for the government’s permission about opening theatres and resuming shooting.
While the Telugu film industry, under the guidance of senior actor like Chiranjeevi, had a few top artistes, directors and producers taking the initiative and intervening in the problems faced by their peers in Tollywood, the Kannada film industry is not so lucky any more. We have lost our people, who would come to our rescue.
We had Dr. Rajkumar, who would sort the issues, and even Parvathamma Rajkumar, who would take initiatives as a producer. Later we would look up to Ambareesh, who would sit, discuss, execute, and make sure the problem is solved as early as possible. He would be the point of contact for all the industry problems.
But at present, we don’t have anybody to fill that space. We now understand the value of these people, who stood behind the film industry. Without them, this industry wouldn’t have come this far. However, at present, Sandalwood doesn’t have anybody to go to during crisis.