MG Srinivas’ children’s film for Shivarajkumar’s banner to kick off on November 14

A year ago, during the promotions of Ghost, director MG Srinivas had said that while he had multiple projects planned with leading man Shivarajkumar as part of his Srinivas Cinematic Universe, his immediate next would be a children’s film backed by the Century Star’s banner, Geetha Pictures. Srinivas was set to adapt one of Geetha Shivarajkumar’s personal favourite novels, a Japanese one at that, for the big screen.

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While Srini, as the filmmaker is better known, has not officially confirmed the material he is adapting, a source had told OTTplay that it is the bestselling novel Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, an autobiographical memoir by Japanese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window explores the values of the unconventional education that Tetsuko received during World War II at Tomoe Gakuen, an elementary school in Tokyo, founded by educator Sosaku Kobayashi.

The source further adds that Srinivas has decided to shoot the film with the children from Shaktidama, the NGO that Geetha Shivarajkumar has inherited from her late in-laws, Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma. A photoshoot was recently done for the official announcement of the project. Geetha Pictures will officially announce the as-yet-unnamed project on November 14, Children’s Day.

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The children’s film will be third project under the banner and the first that will not have Shivarajkumar in the lead. The production house’s first venture was Vedhaa, which has been followed up by Bhairathi Ranagal. The team is currently in the midst of promotions for Bhairathi Ranagal, which will be in theatres on November 15. The announcement of the third project comes at a good time, given that the couple’s daughter Niveditha will also be available to oversee the production. Niveditha’s debut feature production Firefly has just wrapped up shooting.