Prashant Neel's Ugramm had given Sriimurali's career a much-needed fillip. The duo was to do another film but hasn't been able to yet. Is Bagheera the next step in this direction?
Last Updated: 06.20 PM, Oct 23, 2024
Much before he became Kannada cinema’s Roaring Star, Sriimurali’s career was down in the dumps when he did a film with Prashant Neel, which, at the time, did not make much money, but gave the actor’s career a fillip. While he had a couple of hits thereafter, with Rathavara and Mufti (which also starred Shivarajkumar), there was yet another slump. Is Bagheera, which is based on a story by Prashant, the filmmaker’s way of giving Sriimurali yet another boost?
That’s a question that Sriimurali faced at the trailer launch of Bagheera. “No one can decide success or achievements. You can only think and work towards it – and it is this intention that has got Prashant to give us this story. Director Dr Suri has worked hard to execute Prashant’s vision and Hombale Films stood with us every step of the way. But more importantly, Prashant is not just a story writer, or filmmaker for me, he is someone who is very close to me. And if he has done something it comes with a good intention. At the end of the day, though, we can only put in the best of our efforts, the result, is up to the almighty. I am waiting for the result,” said the actor.
Bagheera, which has Sriimurali playing a cop by day and vigilante/superhero by night, is releasing in theatres on October 31. At present, the makers are only releasing it in the Kannada original version and in Telangana and AP with a Telugu dubbed version, given that Prashant has a certain market in the area, thanks to KGF and Salaar. The film stars Rukmini Vasanth, Garuda Ram, Prakash Raj, Pramod Shetty, Achyuth Kumar, Sudharani, among others.
According to the team, although Bagheera is high on action, as has been highlighted in the teaser and trailer, the film is an emotionally-charged drama, as it explores the circumstances around why a law-abiding cop becomes a ruthless vigilante.