Nagashekar's passion for direction is taking him places. Having established his name in Kannada cinema with films like Sanju Weds Geetha and Mynaa, the director is making his mark in Telugu films with the remake of Love Mocktail, and in Tamil with November Mazhaiyil Naanum Avalum.
The director’s next Shrikrishna@gmail.com starring Krishna and Bhavana will be released in Kannada an Malayalam. He is now looking to make his Bollywood debut soon. The director is in talks with Zaid Khan and plans to make it in Kannada and Hindi.
Zaid Khan, the son of politician Zameer Ahmed Khan, is making his acting debut with Jayatheertha's Banaras, which is now in the post-production stages.
Confirming that he is in talks with Nagashekar, the newcomer in Sandalwood says, "Nagashekar has come up with a love story, and I have liked the first half of the script narrated to me. We will be taking it further only after I listen to the rest of the narration."
Zaid stresses that he wants the movie to be a bilingual. "Irrespective of the language of the film I am a part of, I am sure that it should see a Kannada release. This will be the only condition I will put forth to any director who approaches me. Secondly, I have been told that I have the face and personality that fits the profile of a Bollywood hero, which is a plus point, and I would want to encash on that. However, I will make sure that it has a Kannada version," he adds.
Banaras to be out in multiple languages?
Zaid Khan’s first film, Banaras, is likely to see a pan-India release. According to the actor, a few distributors who have watched the film have loved the way Banaras has been shown in Jayateertha’s directorial venture. They have shown an interest in releasing the Kannada their respective languages -- Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi.
The makers will be taking a final decision on this in the next couple of weeks. According to Zaid, films like Baahubali and KGF series have helped Kannada films get a universal appeal. "So we are looking at bringing Banaras in multiple languages and giving it a worldwide release," he says.
Produced by YB Reddy, Banaras has Sonal Monteiro as the female lead. It has music by Ajaneesh B Lokanath and cinematography by Advaitha Gurumurthy.