Ponniyin Selvan actor Jayaram to star alongside Shiva Rajkumar in his Kannada debut

M.G. Srinivas is all set to embark on a rather unique journey. While his previous films like Srinivasa Kalyana, Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni, and Old Monk saw him explore varied themes of crime-noir, urban romance, and fantasy-comedy, the ventures perhaps remained within a certain realm of comfort for the writer-director. And though his upcoming directorial Ghost falls right up his alley, the scale and the planned reach of the film will have him on his toes for a while. Ghost stars Shiva Rajkumar in the lead and Srinivas, or Srini, says that he couldn't think of any other actor to fit the bill but to raise the stakes and make things all the more interesting, he needed a similarly commanding opponent. And much to Srini's delight, he found the solution in veteran Malayalam-Tamil actor Jayaram.

"I wouldn't say that Jayaram sir plays the villain or the antagonist in Ghost but yes, he can certainly be seen as a challenger to Shivanna's character in the film. It's a good vs good battle, in essence, and the rivalry stems from ideological differences between the two - while Jayaram sir plays the role of a police officer, Shivanna is on the other side of the law as the mastermind behind a heist. And for this conflict to become interesting, I needed an actor about the same age as Shivanna and someone who could hold his own in front of a superstar. Jayaram sir was always our first choice but we couldn't sign him on until his dates cleared out," shares Srini.

And the casting of a well-known, highly regarded actor Jayaram also allows the makers of Ghost to extend the reach of their project. The pan-India phenomenon is hotter than ever and though Srini & Co. aren't completely sure yet as to their release strategy, they reckon that the film now has all the potential to be a multilingual one.

"Jayaram sir is a legend in Malayalam cinema, very well known in Tamil films, and he is now actively seeking out roles in Telugu films. So, this allows mounting the film as a bona fide South Indian film. And he has always been keen on doing a Kannada film because he knows the industry well and his friendship with Shiva Rajkumar sir goes back a long way - that's the added bonus," adds Srini.

Ghost goes on floors on October 12 with a special mururtha pooja. The first schedule will take place in Bengaluru and Mysuru with the team having erected multiple set pieces.

Alongside, the film also marks the Kannada debut of talented Hindi actor Prashanth Narayanan. Prashanth, known for his roles in films like Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, Murder, and Murder 2, will be seen in an alluring get-up in Ghost and the makers recently unveiled his look through a small snippet.