Her character Nidhima is no more, but Milana Nagaraj is still an integral part of the Love Mocktail franchise

When Kannada actor-director Darling Krishna set out to make his debut directorial Love Mocktail , he did not have a producer on board, but went ahead with the support of his then girlfriend Milana Nagaraj. From scripting to direction, production, makeup, wardrobe, etc., both Krishna and Milana were involved in pretty much every department behind the camera, as they were in front of it too.

In the film, Milana played Nidhima, one of three women in Aadi’s (Krishna) life and his eventual soulmate. Tragically, though, she succumbs to cancer in the film and the sequel that comes out in two days is set two years after the events of the original. Love Mocktail was a major box-office success and pushed both Milana and Krishna’s fan following multifold.

Milana’s character, we hear, will only be seen fleetingly in a few flashbacks, but for the onscreen absence she made up offscreen, supporting now husband Krishna every step of the way in making, promoting and now releasing the sequel. Over the last few weeks, she has been with the team at every promotional event, while also finding time to put up quirky videos online too. While the first one about her nagging Krishna to release the trailer went viral, more recently they put out another one urging people to book tickets and watch the film. The fun video also featured Abhilash Thapliyal, Rachana Inder and Amrutha Iyengar, as they bug Milana to allot free tickets (in bulk) for the friends and families to watch the film, with captain of the ship Krishna then getting them to book their own tickets.

After all this effort, Milana is quite excited about the release. Confident that the subject will appeal to audiences, as it explores Aadi’s life as he finds love again, the actress-producer has been quoted as saying that releasing Love Mocktail 2 and having people accept it just as they did the original will be the best wedding anniversary gift for her.