Shakhahaari trailer – Rangayana Raghu is a machete-wielding chef in this intense tale

For the longest time, Rangayana Raghu has been relegated to supporting roles, playing father to the protagonist or adding comic value to the narrative. Shakhahaari, which releases on February 16, changes that and gives him a leading role, along with Gopalkrishna Deshpande. Raghu is a chef in a vegetarian hotel in the film, whose life takes a violent turn, as per the trailer that came out a while ago. The film is a murder mystery, with Raghu in a never-before-seen avatar.

In the trailer, he is seen chopping up a body and transporting the remains in a sack to be disposed along with garbage. While this was reminiscent of scenes from Raj B Shetty’s Toby, in which he was the designated go-to person if someone had to go ‘missing’, the body disposal in Shakhahaari are a reflection of the changes Raghu’s character undergoes.

Gopalkrishna is a police officer in the film, which also stars Sujay Shastry, Nidhi Hegde, Pratima Nayak, Harini, Vinay UJ, Sriharsha Gobhatta, Shilpa Shailesh and Mohan Sheni, among others. Directed by debutant Sandeep Sunkad, who has also written the script, Shakhahaari has cinematography by Vishwajit Rao and music by Mayur Ambekallu. The film has been shot in and around locations in Thirthahalli.

A few months ago, Yogaraj Bhat, a frequent collaborator with Raghu, had revealed the title of the film and spoken about how most filmmakers do not tap into even a minute fraction of the immense talent the actor has. Shakhahaari, he said, would remedy that to a large extent.

Daali Dhananjaya released the trailer today, while KRG Studios will release it in theatres on February 16. That weekend is already crowded with several other Kannada films, including KTM, Ladies Bar, 5D, Ravike Prasanga, Dheera Samrat, Saramsha and Mandya Haida. February has a barrage of Kannada films hitting theatres, with the weekends of February 9 and 23 also chock-a-block with multiple releases.