V Ravichandran: I needed an actor with an electrifying voice that can convey the truth; only Sudeep has that

Kannada cinema’s Crazy Star V Ravichandran and superstar Kiccha Sudeep have a deep bond that goes way beyond their professional relationship. Ravichandran, who has played Sudeep’s onscreen father, has often said that they share a father-son bond offscreen too. They attend each other’s film events, even if it is only to wish the other well and don’t miss out on opportunities to collaborate professionally too.

Ravichandran’s next, Ravi Bopanna, which hits theatres on August 12, has Sudeep in a pivotal cameo. At the pre-release event of his film, the Crazy Star said that there is a point in his film at which he needed a voice, one that carries gravitas and is electrifying, which can convincingly convey the truth. “In Karnataka, there is only one man with a voice like that and that is our Sudeep,” he said, adding, “His is a character that will justify all of what I do in the two hours odd runtime of the film, with a five-minute cameo. No one other than Sudeep could have done it. My film needed him, so, I called him and he did that role.”

Ravi Bopanna, which is Ravichandran’s home banner Eswari Productions’ 50th venture. It is the official Kannada remake of the Malayalam film Joseph, which had Joju George in the title role. The Malayalam original was based on a script by a civil police officer, inspired by real-life incidents. The film is an investigative thriller, in which Ravichandran plays a retired police officer, with a penchant for solving mysteries. When he stumbles upon what appears to be an illegal organ trafficking racket, he decides to investigate in his own style. How he manages to crack the case forms the crux of the narrative. Sudeep plays an advocate in the film, a character that late veteran actor Nedumudi Venu took on in the original. 

The film is also Ravichandran’s return to the director’s chair after six years, his last being Apoorva. The film also stars Ravishankar Gowda, Kavya Shetty, Radhika Kumaraswamy, among others.