Paper Boy director Jayashankarr’s next titled Ari, headlined by Anasuya Bharadwaj

Filmmaker Jayashankarr, who carved a niche with his short films early on and made his feature film debut with Paper Boy, has wrapped up another project. Titled Ari, the film is headlined by actress, and television host Anasuya Bharadwaj. Sai Kumar, Viva Harsha and Subhalekha Sudhakar too play important roles in the film whose title logo was launched yesterday.

Seshu Maram Reddy and Srinivas Ramireddy make their production debut with the project. The cast and crew of team Ari came together for a media interaction in Hyderabad amidst the presence of politician Shanampudi Saidireddy, Akhanda producer Miryala Ravinder Reddy, composer Anup Rubens, Mythri Movie Makers’ producer Y Ravi Shankar, director Buchi Babu Sana and others.

Director Jayashankarr said that he could convince the producers with his very first narration but had to wait before Ari was confirmed as a title for the film. “Ari is a Sanskrit word for enemy. You’ll know more about it in the film. We made this film amid challenging circumstances in 2020. The cast and music director Anup Rubens took no time to give their nod. I’m confident that Aari will earn a lot of name and fame,” he added.

Anasuya stated that she was intrigued by the film’s plot as soon as the director told the story over a Zoom conversation during the lockdown. “When there are so many good stories being told on Netflix and Amazon, I always wondered why Telugu cinema couldn’t come up with anything similar. Ari gave me a lot of satisfaction. The film, while discussing a story about humanity, will also entertain audiences. I am getting a lot of promising offers post Pushpa,” she said.

Anup Rubens had reportedly met the producers in the US and hoped for the success of the film. “I have been noticing the growth of Anasuya since Soggade Chinni Nayana and I am happy to be a part of the project. Jayashankarr narrated the story over a journey to the airport and I liked it instantly. This film offers a lot of scope to compose good music,” he shared.

Ari also stars Srikanth Iyengar, Surabhi, Srinivas Reddy, Chammak Chandra, Shashank Mouli and Pavani Reddy in crucial roles.