Firefly director Vamshi: Shivanna had only one advice when I said I would play the lead

Actor and now filmmaker Vamshi, whose debut film Firefly will release on April 24, does not have much to show by way of filmography as an actor or director. He served as assistant director on Mayabazar 2016, produced by Puneeth Rajkumar’s PRK Productions, following which he did a few short films, one of which, God Must Be Waiting,was on Zee5 as part of its Global Content Fest bucket in 2022.

Rajahuli director Guru Deshpande saw the short film and gave its director Kiran Kumar, who’d earlier assisted on the former’s production venture Gentleman, an opportunity to direct a segment in the anthology Pentagon. Vamshi got to play the lead in this chapter, which had him in a more rustic, rural look. Thereafter, he began working on a script that he pitched to several producers, but nothing clicked.

It was then that Vamshi heard that Niveditha Shivarajkumar was looking for scripts to develop as web series and sent her a couple of pitch decks, which she liked and called him for further discussions. They took it to a leading streaming platform, which okayed the script, but then backed out of greenlighting it because Vamshi was a rank newcomer.

It was then that the actor-filmmaker told Niveditha about his film script and since he knew that she was not keen on venturing into feature production, sought her help to get a producer on board. But then, to his luck she liked the story and decided to take the plunge, for which she also wanted him to narrate the script to her father, Century Star Shivarajkumar.

Shivarajkumar's word of advice for Vamshi

Given the Hattrick Hero’s hectic schedule, it wasn’t until a good month and a half later that Vamshi got to tell him the story, which he too liked. He was also on board the idea of Vamshi only playing the lead as they needed someone who could pull of a 20-something character and is a relative newbie. Speaking to Kannada Filmy Club, Vamshi said that Shivarajkumar had just one advice for him, “’You are taking up two big jobs, so be careful. Plan well and arrange a good team’, is all that Shivanna told me,” said Vamshi.

In Firefly, Vamshi plays Vivekananda, aka Vicky, that he describes as an imperfect boy in a perfect world. An award-winning Maths teacher, Vicky is plagued by acute melancholy, even though he’s surrounded by several people, including his parents, played by Sudharani and Achyuth Kumar. A Charanraj musical, the film also stars Chitkala Biradar, Rachana Inder, Sheetal Shetty, Sunder and Veena, among others, with Bhairathi Ranagal star Shivarajkumar filling in with a minor but impactful cameo.