Ravichandran V’s Joseph remake, Ravi Bopanna to hit screens soon

Kannada actor-filmmaker Ravichandran V’s next directorial Ravi Bopanna is gearing up for its date with audiences. The film is the Kannada remake of the hit 2018 Malayalam film Joseph, which had Joju George in the lead. The role had fetched Joju a Kerala State Award for Best Character Actor.

The film is an investigation thriller that centers on a retired police officer with an eye for detail, who uncovers an organ-trafficking racket, but ends up making a great sacrifice in the process. Ravichandran in the title role is joined by actors Sudeep, Kavya Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Jai Jagdish, Ravishankar Gowda and Mohan Shankar, among others. Rachita Ram and Sanchita Padukone will also be seen in pivotal roles apparently, but Ravichandran had been tight-lipped about the same. What is known is that Kavya is paired opposite the actor, while Sudeep plays a lawyer. In the original film, veteran actor Nedumudi Venu was a lawyer.

Going by the teaser of Ravi Bopanna that was released earlier, it appears that Ravichandran is staying true to the original as far as possible, including his look in the film. While the film was shot in locations across Coorg, it would be interesting to see if Ravichandran makes any changes to the narrative to suit Kannada audiences.

The original Malayalam film was written by Shahi Kabir, a civil police officer with the Kerala Police, who has been quoted as saying that some of the events narrated in Joseph were inspired by real events he saw on the job. After the film’s release, Shahi was also at the receiving end of backlash from the medical community about the organ-trafficking racket detailed in it.

According to reports, Ravi Bopanna has been censored and is ready for release. It is, however, unclear if it will aim for a theatrical or OTT release. The actor is also gearing up for the release of the Kannada remake of the Malayalam film Drishyam 2, called Drishya 2, Meanwhile, on a personal note, the Crazy Star, who is quite active on social media now, has taken to numerology and changed his name from V Ravichandran to Ravichandran V.