Prithvi duo Puneeth Rajkumar and Jacob Varghese to reunite again

Filmmaker Jacob Verghese is openly averse to the idea of remakes. Yet it is his debut feature, Savaari, which was the remake of the Telugu film Gamyam, which introduced him to Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar with an opportunity to direct him in the 2010 film Prithvi. The film, about an honest IAS officer on a mission to root out corruption, touched upon sensitive subjects like illegal mining in the Bellary belt and was critically acclaimed.

Now, 11 years later, Jacob and Puneeth are set to collaborate yet again, only this time it is for the actor’s home banner, which, incidentally, will be the first with the Power Star in the lead. Since its launch in 2019, PRK Productions has made films like Kavaludaari, Mayabazar 2016, Law, French Biryani, as well as the ongoing Family Pack, Man of the Match and O2, with Puneeth only having served as singer or guest role actor for his productions. Jacob’s last directorial was the Sathish Ninasam starrer Chambal, the story of which was loosely based on the late DK Ravi, so it would be interesting to see what he has planned for Puneeth this time around. Prithvi was also a film that paired Puneeth with Parvathi Thiruvoth, back in the day when she did Kannada films.

The as-yet-untitled film is likely to go on floors in February 2022, as Puneeth is currently committed to completing his next, James, with director Chetan Kumar, as well as Dvitva with Pawan Kumar. There are also projects with Santosh Ananddram and Dinakar Thoogudeepa that have been announced, but Jacob’s film is the most likely candidate after Dvitva, say sources, as the filmmaker and Puneeth have locked in on the final version of the script that they want to bring to the screen. Formal announcements on the title and the rest of the cast and crew are expected in the days ahead.