Hemanth M Rao and Daali Dhananjaya collaborating on a thriller?

In 2023, during a customary year-end round-table conversation for a media outlet, filmmaker Hemanth M Rao and actor-producer Daali Dhananjaya were a part of the panel, and several audiences had remarked that it would be interesting to see the duo collaborate professionally. Cut to more than a year and a half later, and the buzz is that Hemanth is all set to direct Dhananjaya in a film, which neither of them has confirmed or denied.

In fact, the only information on this has come from Century Star Shivarajkumar, who was to do a film with Hemanth, called Bhairavana Kone Paata.Hemanth was, reportedly, looking at doing another project in the interim. This, said Shivarajkumar, would be with Dhananjaya, in which the Hattrick Hero would have a pivotal cameo.

Hemanth M Rao and Dhananjaya film called...

The buzz in industry circles is that work on this project is so advanced that the team is looking at getting it on floors this week, with June 20 said to be the muhurtha date. Hemanth, who most recently produced the thriller Agnyathavasi, is apparently toying with the genre with his Dhananjaya film, with Kadakk Cinema going as far as claiming that the working title of the project is Operation Diamond Theatre.

Bhairavana Kone Paata, meanwhile, has been put on the backburner until the actor regains his pre-cancer strength, as it is a physically challenging role. In the interim, Shivarajkumar is focusing on finishing his untitled 131st film, Peddi with Ram Charan and another cameo in Jailer 2. He is also the lead in his next home production, A for Anand, the Kannada film adaptation of the Japanese bestseller, Toto Chan: The Girl By the Window.

Dhananjaya was last seen in a pivotal cameo as Anaconda in his home production Vidyapati, starring Nagabhushana in the lead. The actor is working on Jingo with Daredevil Mustafa maker Shashank Sohgal, as well as a second film with Badava Rascal director Shankar Guru, namely Anna From Mexico. A third under-production venture is Uttarakaanda, a gangster tale directed by Rohit Padakki, which also stars Shivarajkumar and is currently on hold.