R Chandru: I could make Kabzaa only because of the love and support of stars like Upendra, Sudeep and Shivarajkumar

Filmmaker R Chandru and his cast of Kabzaa – Upendra, Sudeep and Shriya Saran – are in Mumbai today to address the media about the film, which will release in theatres on March 17. At the press briefing, the filmmaker was asked about his experience of making Kabzaa.

“I was someone who yearned for an opportunity to meet stars like Upendra, and Sudeep, among others, and maybe even take a picture with them. From such a background, I have had the immense fortune to work with them and, most importantly, be able to do a film of the scale of Kabzaa. Today, I am here with Kabzaa, only because of the love and support of stars like Upendra, Sudeep and Shivarajkumar, who stood by me, every step of the way. I will address all questions about Kabzaa after March 17. For now, all I will say is that I have put in some effort and made what I had envisioned. But I didn’t do it alone; Kabzaa is the result of team work,” said Chandru, speaking in Kannada to the gathered crowd. Sudeep, who was in a particularly jovial mood, chimed in that he was going to translate all that the filmmaker said, and paraphrased it to, “He just said that you should learn Kannada.”

Kabzaa, which Chandru wrote, directed and produced, has the tagline ‘The Rise of Gangsters’. Spread across a five decade timeline, the narrative takes place between the 1940s and 80s and follows the rise of a gangster who ruled over India. Beside Upendra, Sudeep, Shriya and Shivarajkumar, the film also stars Nawab Shah, Kabir Duhan Singh, Anup Revanna, John Kokken, Kota Srinivas Rao, Murali Sharma, Posani Murali Krishna, Sudha, Danish Akthar Saifi, among others. The film has cinematography by AJ Shetty, and music by KGF-fame Ravi Basrur. The Hindi version of Kabzaa is being distributed by Anand Pandit.