4 years of Kavaludaari: A gritty neo-noir that marked the debut of PRK Productions

Four years ago, Powerstar Puneeth Rajkumar and his wife Ashwini embarked on an enterprising journey as film producers and founded PRK Productions. The two were fuelled by the passion to support young and talented filmmakers and aide them in their pursuits of making good quality Kannada cinema. Steering clear of the conventions and the kind of cinema that was part of the status quo, PRK Productions emerged as a great platform that backed unique and ambitious ideas of all scale and size.

The first step in this regard came in the form of Kavaludaari, a gritty neo-noir thriller that starred Rishi and the legendary Anant Nag. Written and Directed by Hemanth M. Rao of Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, the 2019 film ushered in a new sensibility to Kannada cinema through the classic Western cinema tropes which were seamlessly blended with a local story. Be it Charan Raj's soundtrack that boasts a rich jazzy flavour, Advaitha Gurumoorthy's moody visual palette or the central performances of Anant Nag, Rishi and others, the audiences have showered praise on a number of facets of Kavaludaari, and over the years, the film has gained a cult-like status.

For PRK Productions, marking the beginning of their journey with a film like Kavaludaari was a bold step, sure, but also a rewarding one. The film may not have broken box office records during its theatrical run but the rave critical and audience reviews certainly reflected its credibility and, as a result, the demand for the remake rights saw a surge. Filmmakers from Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam industries were said to be quite keen on adapting the story - Pradeep Krishnamoorthy would later remake Kavaludaari in Telugu and Tamil as Kapatadhaari and Kabadadaari, with Sumanth and Sibi Sathyaraj play the leads in the respective films. Nandita Swetha starred as the female lead in both parts.