Nikhil Siddhartha begins prep for Swayambhu, heads to Vietnam for martial arts, horse riding training

Nikhil Siddhartha, who was last seen in editor Garry Bh’s directorial debut Spy, is working on multiple films that are to release in the coming year. He is expected to have two releases in 2024 - The India House and Swayambhu. The latter is a historical drama written and directed by Bharat Krishnamachari, in which Samyuktha Menon plays the lead. The shoot was formally launched recently.

The pan-Indian actor is pushing himself hard for Swayambhu, for which he is undergoing an extensive physical makeover. To equip himself with all facets needed to play an on-screen warrior, Nikhil has now headed to Vietnam for a training stint that’ll last for a month. He shall be trained in various aspects in the stint- usage of weapons, marital arts and horse riding, to perform daredevil stunts.

Also read: Swayambhu: Nikhil Siddhartha transforms into a warrior for his next pan-Indian film 

Leading stunt masters and teams in Saigon will be training Nikhil Siddhartha for the action sequences in Swayambhu. The actor has already described this as the most challenging role in his career. This will be his 20th film in his career, that took off with Sekhar Kammula’s blockbuster Happy Days. Swayambhu, his first period film, is bankrolled by Bhuvan and Sreekar under Pixel Studios.

Tagore Madhu is the presenter of Swayambhu. Manoj Paramahamsa has been roped in as the cinematographer while Ravi Basrur is the composer. M Prabhaharan is the production designer and Vasudev Muneppagari is the dialogue writer. Vijay Kamisetty and GT Anand are the co-directors. BBHR Prasad is the executive producer. Junglee Music has acquired the audio rights.

While Nikhil has confirmed that Karthikeya 3 is definitely on the cards, it is likely to begin in the latter half of 2024 or early 2025, going by the packed schedules of the actor and director Chandoo Mondeti (who is helming Naga Chaitanya’s drama centred on the lives of fisherman, produced by Geetha Arts).

Also read: Spy review: Nikhil Siddhartha’s thriller is a preposterous blend of espionage, patriotism and action