Anissh Tejeshwar's all fired up for his next film as hero, Benki

On his birthday today, Kannada actor Anissh (Tejeshwar) revealed the title and first look of his newest film as producer and 10thas a hero. A horror comedy directed by AR Shaan, the film has been called Benki, and pairs Anissh with Sampada Hulivana, who recently made her debut with the Kannada film, Rider. Debutant Shaan is the son of veteran filmmaker AR Babu.

Benki is a commercial entertainer that focuses on a brother-sister relationship and is about 70% done, revealed the team today. Sruthi Patil plays Anissh’s sister in the film, the story of which explores the hardships she faces due to the guy she is set to marry. Speaking to an English daily, Anissh said that the title is the name that his character is known by in the film and that it will be explained why he is known as Benki.

As for Sampada’s character, Anissh says that she plays a ghost, justifying the film’s horror-comedy genre. As has been the case with the actor’s earlier films like Akira, Vasu Naan Pakka Commercial and Ramarjuna, among others, this one not only sees Anissh in a different character, but will also have massy commercial elements. Last year, after the release of Ramarjuna, Anissh had said that he was looking at going on floors with a rural-based subject; turns out Benki is that film.

Although the team has only launched the tile and revealed the first look, Anissh adds that they are ready to release a teaser too shortly. The idea to reveal details about the film only after completing most of the shooting, he says, was because of the intermittent disruptions owing to the pandemic. Now that the film is nearly done, the team feels more confident of wrapping it up and bringing it to audiences soon. Benki is Anissh’s third venture under his Wink Whistle Productions and is backed by KV Ravikumar, Sreekanth KP and Nandish LR.