Sharan’s Avatara Purusha 2 not shelved; in post-production, says director Suni

In May this year, Avatara Purusha: Ashtadigbandana Mandalakka, the first of a two-part story, directed by Suni, produced by Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah and led by Sharan on the cast, released in theatres. The film received positive feedback from critics and audiences, but the box office result was far from satisfactory.

At the time, the buzz from the production house was that they would look at bringing part 2, Avatara Purusha: Trishanku, to theatres within three months. However, after the film came out, there were rumours of financial issues faced by the banner, owing to which Avatara Purusha 2 was likely to be delayed indefinitely. Lead actor Sharan and director Suni put on a brave face and did an Instagram live, during which the filmmaker said that a Dasara 2022 release could be likely. That date, of course, has come and gone and there’s been no trace of the second part.

When OTTplay had spoken to Suni, he had said that pending work on the film, about 25-30%, would be undertaken as soon as Sharan was done with Guru Shishyaru, as he was sporting a moustache for his home production. The actor, we hear, joined the set of Navaneeth’s Tarun Shivappa produced horror comedy, Choo Mantar shortly after.

According to director Suni’s latest update, though, it seems that principal photography on Avatara Purusha 2 has been completed. Recently, Suni responded to a netizens tweet wondering what the status of the film was to which he said that the film is currently in post-production. He attributed the delay to the large-scale visual effects required in the film. He, however, did not clarify if the film would be in theatres soon.

Avatara Purusha revolves around the Jois family, in whose possession and protection is the Trishanku stone, a potent magical element that gives its holder immense power. There are evil forces at play that want to lay their hands on the ‘precious’ stone, for which an elaborate scheme is set wherein the son of Rama Jois, Karna, goes missing, only to resurface years later. Problem is, there are two claiming to be Karna – one is the real heir and the other an imposter. But even the imposter has an agenda, which is the part of the story that will be explored in part 2.

Incidentally, yet another Pushkar Films production, 10, is being released in theatres on December 16, with absolutely no publicity. The film, which is taking on Avatar 2 at the box office, has got a handful of shows and screens in Bengaluru.