Dhananjaya’s gangster flick Uttarakaanda to be a two-part saga

The film reunites him with Rathnan Prapancha director Rohit Padaki and is expected to go on floors in April

Daali Dhananjaya in Rohit Padaki's Uttarakaanda

Kannada cinema’s Natarakshasa, Daali Dhananjaya, is currently busy with his upcoming release, Hoysala, promotions of which will kickstart this weekend, when the team presents a glimpse of his character, police officer Gurudev. Hoysala is his milestone 25th film, after which he will be seen in the Telugu film Zebra, along with Satyadev. His next in Kannada is Uttarakaanda, which is KRG Studios’ third production venture. So far, the studio has only collaborated with Dhananjaya, right from Rathnan Prapancha, leading into Hoysala and next, Uttarakaanda.

Directed by Rohit Padaki, Uttarakaanda has also been widely discussed as the comeback vehicle of Sandalwood’s former Queen Bee, Ramya. The actress, who has been away from cinema for more than eight years, for a stint in politics, was supposed to return with a role in a home production. But that changed and when she was then offered Uttarakaanda with her pal Dhananjaya, it seemed like the right choice.

The team had a muhurtha for the film in early November last year, but is yet to go on floors, as Dhananjaya has been busy with both Hoysala and Zebra. Hoysala has been announced as a March 30, 2023 release, and we now hear that Uttarakaanda will take off soon after that. The bigger piece of news, however, is that Rohit’s gangster flick, which is based in north Karnataka, will be made in two parts. In earlier interactions with the media, Rohit had said that the film would be about human reactions to conflict, presented as an entertaining, action-packed gangster drama. The first poster of Dhananjaya from the film has the actor smoking a cigar and a beedi together, while his hands and face are all blood soaked, presumably from all the violence ensuing around him. Dhananjaya’s character is apparently someone who fights for what he deems right and doesn’t shy away from a fight. How he overcomes obstacles and emerges victorious is the crux of the story.

The makers have not revealed any details about Ramya’s role, but the actress is hopeful of mastering the Hubballi dialect in time for when she begins shooting for Uttarakaanda. “I read the script and was literally blown away because this is something that I have never done before in my career. It would be an interesting role to play and I took it up,” Ramya had told us back then.

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