Pabbar: Dheeren’s crime thriller with Shakhahaari maker Sandeep Sunkad to go on floors in mid-May
Officially the fourth production venture of Geetha Shivarajkumar’s Geetha Pictures, Pabbar will likely be ready before the third, A for Anand
Last Updated: 03.15 PM, May 07, 2025
In late 2024, Geetha Shivarajkumar announced two new production ventures in quick succession – first up was A for Anand, a children’s film with Shivarajkumar in the lead, and then, an untitled venture starring Dheeren R Rajkumar (Poornima Rajkumar and veteran actor Ramkumar’s son), which would be directed by Sandeep Sunkad, who got audiences to take note of him with his debut, Shakhahaari. Geetha’s earlier productions include Vedha and Bhairathi Ranagal, both of which were headlined by Shivarajkumar.
Dheeren paired with Amrutha Prem in Pabbar
Only days after the muhurtha of A for Anand, Geetha has officially launched Dheeren’s film too, which is called Pabbar and pairs him with Amrutha Prem, the daughter of actor Nenapirali Prem. Amrutha had debuted last year with the Daali Dhananjaya production Tagarupalya, opposite Nagabhushana. Pabbar is also a crime thriller like Shakhahaari and will go on floors on May 15, much ahead of A for Anand, which will begin only by the end of the year.
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Named after a river valley in Himachal Pradesh, Pabbar will travel from Mysuru and Bengaluru to to the hill state on the Western Himalayas and eventually Madikeri. The first look poster has Dheeren clad in winter wear and holding a pistol, against the backdrop of snow-clad mountains.
Dheeren had made his debut with the film Shiva 143, the Kannada remake of the Telugu film RX 100, which had failed to give him the launch he’d hoped for. His sophomore project Pabbar also stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, who was one of the main pillars of Shakhahaari, while Sandeep’s trusted team of Mayur Ambekkalu for music, and Vishwajith Rao for cinematography are also on board.
For the crime adventure, which, according to Sandeep, revolves around a personal transformation for the protagonist, and includes an investigation as well, Dheeren had to shed quite a bit of weight, the purpose of which will be revealed at a later srage.
Incidentally, a year ago, Dheeren had shortened his surname to an initial and then added Rajkumar also to it, to go by Dheeren R Rajkumar for a film to be produced by KRG Studios. There has been no update on this project since then, as KRG has put all its focus into two back-to-back projects with Yuva Rajkumar, apart from the in-production Uttarakaanda. For Pabbar, though, Dheeren has dropped all surnames.