A chip of the old block
Stars from prominent Sandalwood families are now turning producers
By : shashiprasad sm
Update: 2015-07-01 00:32 GMT
In a growing trend in the Sandalwood industry, actors are switching their roles too, and opting to turn producers. After the actors from the producers’ family like late thespian Dr Rajkumar, late Sri Veeraswamy the father of crazy star V. Ravichandran, Kiccha Sudeep and more, established actors such as Duniya Vijay, Challenging Star Darshan and Golden Star Ganesh are also venturing into production.
KISMAT: Vijay Raghavendra, who won a national award as a child artiste and went on to make a mark for himself in the industry, is now testing his Kismat — his maiden home banner venture. He is making the debut as a director too with the remake of Neram, a Tamil hit. After a slow down in his popularity, he chose to work on the small screen and by winning the first ever Bigg Boss in the Kannada version his career got a boost. He is now more audible on radio too while running a late evening show.
KRISHNAN STORY: Ajai Rao, known as the Sandalwood’s Krishna for after back to back hits — Krishnan Love Story and Krishnan Marriage Story, took up production for Krishna Leela, which recently celebrated 100 days. Impressed by the script, and his confidence in director Shashank made him take up production. “In fact, it was Shashank who was to produce under his banner but I requested him to let me produce the film, which is based on a true story,” says Ajai.
ROCKET LAUNCH: Whereas in the case of Ninasam Sathish, who became popular with Lucia, and thereafter with few remake hits, he has now ventured into production through Satish Pictures, to boost budding and talented actors. He says he wants to give preference to new talent and new kind of stories through this banner.
SRUJAN: After his debut as an actor, Srujan, son of late veteran actor Lokesh faced tough times, and headed back to the small screen producing programmes which established his popularity. His latest TV programmes has further cemented his stardom, re-launching himself by producing an upcoming venture directed by Indrajit Lankesh. The actor who recently turned a year older will also be seen dancing with Sunny Leone in Luv U Alia.