VK Prakash – I’ve done a Kannada film earlier, but Vishnu Priya is the one I am looking forward to

Vishnu Priya is a film that Kannada actor Shreyas Manju picked up as his second film, three years ago. Directed by National Award winning filmmaker VK Prakash, the film was not delayed in its making, but for reasons best known to the team, just didn’t make it to theatres yet. The team has now fixed March 29 as its date with audiences and gathered today to release the first song from the Gopi Sundar musical.

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Speaking at the song launch, VKP, as the filmmaker is popularly known, said that although Vishnupriya was not his first Kannada film in a career spanning over 3 decades, it was special to him and one that he is eagerly looking forward to seeing in theatres. “Vishnu Priya is a beautiful love story,” he said.

VKP adds, “When I first met K Manju, Shreyas’ father, I was a bit scared, because he is a big name in Kannada cinema. It’s only after I began interacting with him more and then started working on the film that I realized what a wonderful producer he is. I have worked with so many producers in my career and what stood out was not the money or the way he behaves or talks, but the passion for filmmaking and respect he has for directors.”

As for Shreyas, VKP says that when he met his leading man, the first impression he had was that the actor should develop a boy-next-door onscreen image. “I have been telling him that he should do cinema like Vishnupriya, in which he is the boy-next-door, but he doesn’t listen to me. If he follows this path, I believe it will take him to greater heights, because it allows him to perform,” said the filmmaker.

Before going on floors, VKP had done a workshop with Shreyas and Priya Prakash Varrier to develop a certain comfort between the actors, which would help them in creating onscreen chemistry. “I feel the film’s come out well, but now the audience has to decide,” he says. As for the delay in releasing it in theatres, VKP says that he’s done four films and a web series since finishing Vishnu Priya. “Every time I called Manju and asked him about the status, he’d tell me not to worry and that it will happen at the right time,” he added.