PremiumGhost: Shivarajkumar’s gangster avatar is only 10-20% of the narrative, says director MG Srinivas
The Big Daddy teaser represents only a portion of the story, explained the filmmaker, ahead of Ghost’s October 19 theatrical release
Last Updated: 01.39 PM, Sep 14, 2023
Kannada filmmaker MG Srinivas has often explained that his upcoming Shivarajkumar starrer is an action heist thriller. But then, for the Century Star’s birthday, Srinivas had released a special teaser called Big Daddy, which had the actor in full on gangster mode. “They call me OG – Original Gangster,” Shivarajkumar was heard saying in the teaser. Big Daddy, Srinivas had explained, was not specifically shot for the birthday, but is indeed a part of the film, which, in turn, gave fans the idea that Ghost is a gangster flick, a genre that Shivarajkumar is a master at.
The film, meanwhile, is set for a Dasara festive release, in the run up to which, Srinivas has set out to bust any misconception that Ghost is a gangster film. Speaking to a Kannada news channel, Srinivas explained that the gangster avatar of Shivarajkumar’s character is only 10-20% of the narrative. The rest is an action heist thriller, which occurs within a 48-hour timeframe in a jail. There is no heroine and Shivarajkumar does not even get an introduction song. In fact, Srinivas says that the songs in the film, composed by Arjun Janya, are all situational, which take the narrative forward. The filmmaker adds that Ghost is similar in genre to films like Nishkarsha and Khaidhi, among others.
Ghost, which began as a Kannada film, is now looking at being released as a pan-India movie, what with leading man Shivarajkumar’s new-found popularity outside of Karnataka, following his brief cameo in Superstar Rajinikanth’s Jailer. The buzz surrounding Ghost has grown multifold in the last month or so and Srinivas is capitalizing on this. A Tamil and Telugu version had been confirmed earlier, but now the word is that Malayalam and Hindi will also release simultaneously on October 19. The film will also kick-start Srinivas’ ‘Ghost-Birbal Srinivas Cinematic Universe’ with crossovers between the two franchises. The actor-filmmaker, who was the lead of Birbal, will be seen in Ghost, and that may not be limited to just one scene.