The lion' king roars

The undisputed lion of the Kannada film industry, who has been roaring for several decades, will be back on the big screen with his life partner, after a gap of 24 years. This time, Sahasa Simha will play a predominant role instead of his most recent film where he was used for publicity purposes only.

Anirudh Jatkar, son-in-law of late Dr Vishnuvardhan, is making moves to “digitally” recreate his father-in-law on the silver screen in his upcoming film Raja Simha. Rumour has it that he is sweating it out, to look perfectly chiselled for this one. He speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about his favourite lion, and fulfilling his dreams.

“I have been working really hard for the past two years, fulfilling the dreams of my father-in-law. This film is a sequel to one of his most successful films Simhadriya Simha. I am portraying the role of Narasimhe Gowda’s son from the film, for which I had to look entirely different. It is also special because Appaji (his late father-in-law Dr Vishnuvardhan,) will be created with high-tech computer graphics, and even Bharathi Amma (his mother-in-law) will be acting alongside Appaji after a long gap of over 24 years on the big screen,” Anirudh reveals.

The actor adds that they are continuing the character of Narasimhe Gowda in which Vishnuvardhan Sir will roar again. “Unlike the recent film where Appaji’s name was used for publicity purposes, with claims that the entire movie was about him, and he actually appeared only for a few minutes, leaving the audience deceived and disappointed, in Raja Simha, the script demands his presence, and he will not be restricted to a few scenes Even Ambareesh Uncle, Appaji’s closest friend  will be portraying a special role,” he adds.

While the shooting of the movie Raja Simha is scheduled to wrap up in a month, and then head for computer graphic work, the crew is hoping for an April-May release.

“Director Ravi Varma makes his debut with his first ever commercial venture. He has been in the industry for quite some time, and aware of every aspect of film making. He along with producer Basappa expressed that I needed a change-over in terms of screen presence. I was always fit, thanks to regular yoga and basic exercises. I was always seen as a lover boy on screen, and to play an action hero, I had to work out. So, I hit the gym for a six-pack and have been working hard for almost two years and have also been following a strict diet regime,” he says.

The films comprises of four unique action sequences choreographed with quite a high element of risk. Another three months for the lion to roar again!