Avatara Purusha became a film and not web series, because no OTT platform showed interest in Kannada content: Suni

When Kannada filmmaker Suni wrote the story of Avatara Purusha, it was not meant to be a film. Suni was looking at exploring the OTT space with a Kannada web series, but his hopes were soon dashed when major streamers told him that they were not looking at investing in original Kannada series just yet. Suni then had a conversation with producer Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah about this and he wondered if the script could be condensed into film format, as he was to collaborate with actor Sharan and had his dates.

According to reports, although Suni agreed to meet Sharan and give him a narration, the filmmaker thought that he would probably not agree because the subject was a stark departure from the actor’s earlier works. Although it was steeped in comedy, at its heart, Avatara Purusha is a black magic horror tale. But more importantly, the protagonist of the tale is a junior cine artiste, which would hit too close to home for Sharan, given that he was a supporting artiste in 99 films, until he turned hero with a home production on his 100th project. To Suni’s surprise, Sharan was quite thrilled with the story and that’s how, says the director, Avatara Purusha came to be.

Avatara Purusha has Sharan in the lead along with Ashika Ranganath. Also on the cast are Saikumar, Srinagara Kitty, Vijay Chendoor, B Suresha, Ashutosh Rana, Sudharani and Bhavya, among others. Given that Suni had written the story for a web series, even his condensed version required two films, so, Avatara Purusha got split in two, Ashtadigbandana Mandalaka and Trishanku, the first of which will be in theatres on May 6. The team had earlier said that part 2 would be released within a three-month gap, but there’s been no confirmation on that. Suni, though, has said that he has shot major portions of part 2 and that both Saikumar and Srinagara Kitty’s characters will have more prominence in that tale.