Award-winning director Satya Prakash, known for Rama Rama Re, Ondalla Eradalla, and Man of the Match, is now working on his fourth film. The upcoming project comes with an interesting title, X & Y, and sees the filmmaker donning multiple roles. Satya, who wears the director’s hat apart from producing the film, will now face the camera for the first time in a lead role. The team, which is currently shooting, has unveiled the first-look poster and a teaser. The poster shows the actor holding a helmet in his hands while being surrounded by a sea of sperms.

“This story focuses on today’s generation—those who have become, are becoming, or want to become fathers and mothers. It also delves into the lives of today’s boys, girls, and children,” says Satya, adding, “It falls under the genre of comedy, bringing in compassionate ideas that make you laugh and enjoy watching the film. The first schedule of the shoot is complete, and preparations are underway for the second.”

The film features music by Vasuki-Vaibhav, cinematography by Lavith, editing by BS Kemparaju, and art direction by Varadaraj Kamath. The cast includes Atharva Prakash, Brinda Acharya, Ayana, Sundar Veena, Veena Sundar, and Doddanna, among others.

Dhananjay has often expressed keenness to introduce new, aspiring talents under his banner Daali Pictures. The production house, which has bankrolled films like Badava Rascal and Tagaru Palya, is gearing up to produce their fifth film starring Naduve Antaraviralli actor Prakyath.

The second project of the actor will mark the directorial debut of Chetan Jayaram. The latter has been in the film industry since 2016, working under the guidance of noted directors. The makers are officially kickstarting the project with a muhurath today and will begin shooting once they finalise the rest of the cast. The film is expected to be an action drama.

Interestingly, the director has come up with a subject based on a true incident in Bangalore Central Jail, and more details on the plot and cast will be revealed soon. The yet-to-be-titled film will have Karthik and Rohit Sower on board as DoP and music director, respectively.

Vinay Rajkumar’s latest outing, Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe, directed by Suni, was released last week, and has received a heartfelt response from audiences across Karnataka. The film, which has been receiving good feedback gets equal support from celebrities in the Kannada industry who have poured appreciation for Suni’s work and Vinay’s character. What was overwhelming for Vinay was having his uncle Shivarajkumar watch the film and express his appreciation.

Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe, which was released alongside a slew of other films, has seen an increase in the number of theatres for the coming week in some places of Karnataka, which has certainly given a boost to the team. Along with Vinay Rajkumar, the film produced by Mysuru Ramesh under the Ram Movies banner, also stars Swasthik Krishnan and Mallika Singh in the female leads and has Raghavendra Rajkumar playing a special role. The ensemble cast further includes Rajesh Nataranga, Aruna Balaraj, and Sadhu Kokila, among others, in pivotal roles. This musical romantic drama has music by Veer Samarth and cinematography by Karthik Sharma and Sabha Kumar.

Meanwhile, as the latest development, the production house, which is happy with the response of Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe, is said to team up with director Suni once again for an interesting project, and details will be revealed soon.

It was earlier expected that Amulya would be making her comeback to films with Prajwal Devaraj’s Karavalli, directed by Gurudatha Ganiga. However, she couldn’t come on board and according to the latest news, the makers have finalised Sampada to play the female lead. The actor, who made a transition from serial (Mithuna Rashi) to the silver screen, made her mark with Nikhil Kumar’s Ryder. Karavali marks her solo lead role.

The film marks Prajwal’s 40th film, the makers, who had created substantial buzz about the plot, which revolves around Kambala, a popular race in Tulunadu, will have the actor appearing in a never-seen-before avatar. The shooting for Karavalli, produced by Gurudatha Ganiga Films in association with VK Films, has kickstarted with the completion of the first look and teaser. Now, the full-fledged shooting is taking place in and around Mangaluru, and post the muhurath, it will be held on February 19. The original plot line of Karavalli, written by Chandrashekar Bandiyappa, will see Gurudatha wearing multiple hats as writer, director and producer. Sachin Basrur is composing the music.

Challenging Star Darshan, who gave a blockbuster hit with Kaatera, is already creating the right noise for his next film, Devil-The Hero. Directed by Prakash Veer, the film has been generating the right kind of buzz since its announcement.

According to the latest report, the audio rights of the film, which is yet to roll, have already been sold to the popular music label Saregama – South for a whopping price. "We are happy that a noted music label like Saregama has shown interest in buying the rights to our film. There was a lot of demand, and various music labels offered their pitch, but finally, we settled with this music company," says an elated Prakash.

Meanwhile, the makers have shot exclusively for the first look teaser that will be released on the eve of Darshan's birthday. "It is unique and composer Ajaneesh Loknath has exclusively composed a theme music for this," shares Prakash.

The director, who is busy with the pre-production works also clarified with us that apart from Darshan as the lead, the team is yet to finalise the heroine and the rest of the cast. They will be making an official announcement regarding this soon.

The film, which is presented by Jai Matha Combines, and produced by J Jayamma and Prakash Veer under their home banner Vaishno Studios has cinematographer Sudhakar S Raj joining hands for a Darshan's film once again.

Devil-The Hero will be the second collaboration of the actor-director duo who had previously joined hands for Tarak (2017). The director in his previous interview with us had shared that he is looking to bring out a mass venture, made to satisfy Darshan fans with Devil.

Honour for Darshan’s 25-years

Meanwhile, fans, who have started the birthday celebrations early, and are also preparing to celebrate Challenging Star Darshan's 25-year journey in the film industry. Transitioning from a light boy, and playing pivotal roles to a mass hero with Majestic, Darshan has earned millions of fans over this period.
The Silver Jubilee Celebration – D-25, is set to happen on February 17, in Srirangapatna. It will bring together thousands of his fans, addressed as celebrities by the actor himself, along with friends and industry peers, to honour Darshan's significant contribution to Kannada cinema.

HM Murthy, a noted name in the Kannada industry, is introducing his grandson Yashaswa to cinema with Agniloka.

The film marks his debut as an action hero and is currently in its final stages of shooting. Yashaswa, following the footsteps of his grandfather, has his father, Rajesh Murthy helming the project, apart from penning the story, and screenplay. The film has been shot in Bengaluru, KGF, Mandya and Chikkamangaluru.

The film produced by Pushpa Manjunath has Manjushree playing the female lead. It also stars Manjunath, Ajith Kumar, and Pramod Hiremath,  in pivotal roles. The film’s cinematography is handled by Vinod and it has music by Nithin Kumar. 

Suchan Shetty, an erstwhile associate of Ravi Basrur and known for his roles as a forest guard in Kantara and as an antagonist in Kadal, is now ready to explore filmmaking. His upcoming film, titled God Promise, is described as a family comedy-drama and will be produced by Manjunath under the Maitri Productions banner.

“I initially entered the industry with the aim of becoming an actor, but I began my journey by working under the guidance of Ravi Basrur. I assisted him on his directorial projects like Kataka, Girmit, and his latest, Kadal, where I was involved in writing and direction,” says Suchan, who shared the first-look poster with CE. “God Promise was initially planned as a short film, but Ravi Basrur himself insisted that I turn it into a full-fledged feature, and that’s how it all started,” he adds.

While the director is finalising the cast, he has already selected the technicians. Bharat Madhusudhanan, who has assisted various musicians in over 400 films, will mark his debut as a music composer with this film. Guruprasad Narnad and Naveen Shetty will handle cinematography and editing, respectively.

The team, which is now in the preparation stage, plans to kick-start shooting in April.

The first trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes just dropped during Super Bowl Sunday. The film serves as the sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) and is the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise.

The film is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Wes Ball who is best known for the Maze Runner trilogy and stars Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy. The screenplay is by Josh Friedman and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Patrick Aison.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled to be released by 20th Century Studios in the United States on May 10, 2024.

Journalist-turned-filmmaker Yathiraj has completed shooting for his next, titled Sanju. Apart from directing, the filmmaker will be seen in multiple other roles, including story, and dialogue writing, and will also play a pivotal character.

The makers recently launched the music album in the presence of directors Yograj Bhat, Guruprasad, Guru Deshpande, producer Umesh Bankar, and President of KFCC NM Suresh. Composed by Vijay Harsita, the album has two songs crooned by Vasuki Vaibhav, Aishwarya Rangarajan and Naveen Sajju.

With the tagline 'Agamya Payaniga', Sanju stars Manveeth and Sathvika in lead roles. Set in a bus station, the film revolves around the protagonist, a common man, who navigates through life's highs and lows. Yathiraj further elaborates, "The theme explores the impact of impulsive decisions on our lives, set against the backdrop of Madikeri."

The film will feature cinematography by Vidya Nagesh, choreography by Madan-Harini and action by Thriller Manju.  Sanju, bankrolled by Santhosh DM, is scheduled for an April release.

Rangayana Raghu, known for his outstanding performances, over decades, has earned the title Abhinayasura (Master of Acting). The actor was bestowed with this honour at the pre-release event of his upcoming film, Shakhahari, which will be released on February 16.

Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar and director Suri graced the event, showing support for the film and the actor. “Previously, when we wanted to make a movie with Yogaraj Bhat, Rangayana Raghu was a non-negotiable. Since then, he has been with us, from big-budget films to small projects. Now, we are leaving the role he was supposed to play. If I make any decision, they would provide a background and reinforce it strongly. Yogaraj Bhat and Rangayana Raghu sir are our mentors. If I say I’ve done something today, a major credit belongs to Rangayana Raghu. Sometimes, I wonder if we didn’t utilize Raghu sir’s talent properly,” explains Suri.

Rangayana Raghu expressed his gratitude: "In my entire life, Suri and Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar have been among the most invaluable people to me.” He also emphasised the importance of artistic freedom in filmmaking and the collaborative effort behind the success of Shakhahari.

The film, set in a village near Tirthahalli, Shivamogga, revolves around mysterious incidents in Malenadu. Raghu plays a cook, with Gopalakrishna Deshpande as a police officer and Sujay Shastry in a prominent role. Other actors include Pratima Nayak, Harini, Vinay YUJ, Shriharsha Gobhata, and Nidhi Hegde. Shakhahari, directed by Rajesh Keelambi who has also produced the film along with Ranjini Prasanna, has Vishwajith Rao handling the camera, Shashank Narayan editing, and Mayur Ambekallu composing the music.