A super starry KALI -BRE
The hot shots of Sandalwood will act together in Prem’s Kali.
By : shashiprasad sm
Update: 2015-12-15 23:12 GMT
The director who created several box office records with the Jogi starring Hat-Trick Hero Dr Shivarajkumar, has again proven his metal by achieving the almost improbable task — of bringing the kings of Sandalwood Shivanna and Kiccha Sudeep together onscreen for a mega project. With the title of the movie launched recently, Prem speaks about the film Kali in an exclusive interview to Bengaluru Chronicle. He reveals the birth of Kali, and how he aspired to make it one of the most expensive, experimental and extravagant projects in the Kannada film industry.
“Ever since the Kariya days, Sudeep and I, who is close family, wanted to do a film together. But unfortunately, things never worked out as the kind of films I believe in making are always different and to bring onboard other aspects with a star actor like Sudeep was a mammoth task. However, when we finally thought about making it, I first approached Sudeep with the idea of doing a film along with Shivanna,” says Prem.
With the huge success of Jogi followed by Joggaiah, Prem was under immense pressure from both fans and film makers to recreate the magic of Jogi. This is when producer CR Manohar approached Prem, but according to the director, he was initially sceptical and took it further only after discussing it with both the star actors.
“I had been working on the script for about eight months. Shivanna and I share a very good rapport and are very close. So when he was recently admitted to the hospital, I could not control my angst when I met him. It was Geetha akka who consoled me, and even Shivanna said that he was well and there was nothing to worry about. It was after his discharge from the hospital, I met him at his residence and when I was about to leave, I expressed my desire about a film with Sudeep. In no time, he said yes,” recalls Prem, emotionally, adding, “I still recall being stunned when he told me to direct a film early on in which he would jump from a height of 50 feet.”
The director adds that the making itself would have taken more than a year with a major portion of the work being done on imaginary locations using computer graphics that will be done by Hollywood technicians. “It will take another three months to finish the preparation before the shooting begins. I will be shooting according to a specified plan. Apart from the characters, the entire film will be shot in an imaginary world,” he explains.
Before signing off, he shares that it was his “kali” in real life who was overjoyed when he first mentioned the start of this mega project. The film is tipped to be at least a 100 crore project. About speculations on a Tamil version in which Kamal Hassan could play the lead role, Prem clarifies that it is in the initial stages as talks are still on.
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