PremiumRoyal director Dinakar Thoogudeepa on his next with Darshan: ‘The intention is to… ‘
Royal director Dinakar Thoogudeepa, who has done two films with his brother Darshan, had announced a third, which did not take off. He lists a collaboration as one of two films he has in his line-up
Last Updated: 08.46 PM, Jan 21, 2025
If things had gone as per Dinakar Thoogudeepa’s plan, he would not have, perhaps, had an almost 6-year gap between his last directorial Life Jothe Ond Selfie and his next, Royal. In 2016, Dinakar had announced that he was set to do a third film with his brother, Challenging Star Darshan. Titled Sarvantaryaami, this was meant to be Darshan’s 50th as a leading man, but the film did not take off.
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At the time, Dinakar had said he would do a film based on a script by his wife Manasa, as an interim project, which was Life Jothe Ond Selfie. Since then, the only other announcement he’d made was for a film with Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar in the lead for Jayanna Films. Dinakar had spent about a year-and-a-half on a script that he says Puneeth was quite excited about, as it was an out-and-out commercial entertainer, the kind that the actor had done very sparingly.
Dinakar Thoogudeepa on his plans for his film with brother, Darshan
The Power Star’s demise, though, meant that this project was not to be and Dinakar has not decided what to do with that script. He is, however, back on track as far as working with Darshan goes. The last time he directed Darshan was in 2011’s Saarathi. Dinakar, who is currently promoting Royal, which will be in theatres on January 24, is working on two subjects – one to launch his nephew and another for Darshan.
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This time around, Dinakar says that he’s got a lot more freedom to experiment than he had during Saarathi. “Kaatera is the first film in which Darshan did not have a major action block in the climax, which audiences accepted and liked. What this tells me as a filmmaker is that I don’t have to work within the limitations of Darshan’s image as a commercial hero. Kaatera has given me the confidence that audiences are willing to see Darshan in a new avatar. The intention is to present him either with a subject he’s not attempted before or in a never-before-seen character,” Dinakar said in a conversation with Kairam Vaashi.