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Upendra: Voice of the common man
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Kannada actor Upendra is a multi-faceted personality. While he is best known for his direction and different acting style, he is popular for his lyrics too. He has also sung in several films, including in his latest film Super.
Of late, the actor is being approached by other filmmakers to croon for their movies.
First came an offer from the Jogayya team. Uppi obliged by singing Tagalhakonde naanu, Next, he was approached to give voice to a cycle in the Komal-starrer Maryade Ramanna. Now he has just finished singing a song for director Shashank's Jarasandha.
The team was looking for someone with a raw voice, something that the common man would identify with and Uppi fit the bill, says Shashank. "We needed energy and expression in the song and thought Uppi would be the perfect choice. While most of the previous songs he has sung have been lyrics-based, this one will be more melody oriented," says the director.
The song is a duet and has been picturised on the lead pair Vijay and Pranita. It has been shot in Bangkok and will feature 20 African dancers.
Shashank has written the lyrics for the song that goes Pade pade phoneninalli. "It will depict a phone conversation between two lovers. While Vijay will get to show off his six packs in the song, Pranita will provide the oomph factor," says Shashank. Arjun is the music director.
The film is set for a September release.
Journey through the world of Kamsale
The form is popular in Karnataka's Kollegal, Chamarajanagar and Malavalli regions and the film intends to popularise it as a cultural binding force rather than limiting it to certain regions and religion.
This children's film depicts the story of a boy and his journey through the world of Kamsale. Actor and dancer Shreedhar plays a major role. Snehit, who played the lead in Appu Pappu, Chiranjeevi of Ekameva fame, and Vaibhav, are part of the cast, which includes 20 children all of whom received 20 days of training in Kamsale.
There will be 10 songs in the film, mostly folk music. K Kalyan is the music composer. Nagabharana's son Pannaga will be co-directing the film, costumes are by Nagini Bharana, and Ananth Urs is behind the camera.
Shooting has begun and is expected to end in September. Locations span Bengaluru, Kollegal, the Male Madeshwara Hills and Karighata.
Nagabharana's next project is the tele-serial Keladi Chenamma.
Arm candy no more?
Sanjjanna, who made news for her skin show in Ganda Hendti, disappeared for a while and then resurfaced with noticeable roles in Mylari and I am Sorry Mathe Banni Preethsona. The actress is now juggling Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam films.
After wrapping up her Telugu film Muggurru, in which she has played an NRI, Sanjjanna got busy with Kannada film Sagar, also starring Prajwal Devraj.
Now she has another film, Ondu Kshnadalli, with Tarun. The film is a romantic thriller and shows how one minute can turn one's life around. The actress has also bagged Malayalam film Casanova, playing opposite Mohanlal and The King and Commissioner with Mammootty.
Are her days of being the sizzling arm-candy over?