'Madhagaja' promises to be a grand action drama

Producers Umapathy Gowda and Deepak Gowda and hero Sriimurali talk about the big-budget film shot in Varanasi

After ‘Bharaate’ and ‘Mufti’, ‘Ugramm’ star Sriimurali will be seen in action-packed family entertainer ‘Madhagaja’, directed by Mahesh Kumar and produced by Umapathy S Gowda and Deepak Gowda. Its two-and-a-half-minute official trailer was launched on Friday, and gave a sneak peek into the grandeur and scale of the film.

His ‘Roberrt’ was produced on a whopping budget, and so Umapathy has made sure that his second production is not lacking. He has got on board a cast that includes Jagapathi Babu, playing the antagonist and Devayani playing the mother.

The launch began with a tribute to Puneeth Rajkumar. Sriimurali also sang ‘Ninna Kangala’, a song that was originally sung by Puneeth, as a part of the tribute.

Sriimurali says the story and its narration impressed him. “It looks at some things that a son must do to win the love of his mother. Families will enjoy watching this film,” he tells Showtime.

The actor has worked overtime to get a well-toned look for the role, “I would work out before and after shoots just to make sure that I don’t break the schedule. I also stuck to a juice diet for a long time. Greens became a routine in my diet,” he adds.

The film was shot during the Maha Shivaratri festival in Varanasi when the entire city was lit up. “I love Shiva and shooting amid lakhs of people was an unforgettable experience,” he says.

About Devayani, who plays his mother, Sriimurali says, “She is so focused on her role that she won’t snap out of the character till the shooting is complete. I admire her dedication to the craft.”

The shooting completed in one and a half years. “The film is a neat mix of action, love and sentiment,” says Umapathy.

The film will release simultaneously in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. “We are looking at 1,500 theatres across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It will also be dubbed in Hindi, but that will be later,” says co-producer Deepak Gowda.

The trailer was launched by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. The launch also saw the producers contributing Rs 11.01 lakh to the chief minister’s calamity relief fund.