The shooting of the Kannada film 99 began a few days ago and is progressing well. Recently, its lead star Ganesh joined the sets and scenes involving him are being canned. So far, director Preetham Gubbi had directed the portions with Hemanth and Samikshaa, who play the younger versions of the lead pair Ganesh and Bhavana. It may be noted here that 99 is the Kannada version of the Tamil blockbuster 96, which had Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha playing the lead pair.

On choosing Hemanth and Samikshaa to play the younger versions of the lead pair, the director told Cinema Express in an interview, “They carry the film for a long time, and both have brilliantly played their characters. Samikshaa, who has worked in television, is basically from Shivamogga. As for Hemanth, he is an aspiring talent. Since both of them have not appeared much, they bring freshness to the story. Everything is shaping up well. Through this film, we have got the 90s era back on the silver screen.”

99 will be noted music director Arjun Janya’s 100th film. Cinematography is handled by Santhosh Rai Pathaje and the film is bankrolled under the Ramu Enterprises banner.

The Tamil film 96 turned out to be one of the biggest hits last year, following which its remake rights were soon lapped up. The film, released on October 4, received widespread appreciation from film buffs, critics and film personalities. It is a C Prem Kumar directorial which was bankrolled by Nandagopal under the Madras Enterprises banner. It is also to be remade in Telugu and the rights are with Dil Raju, with many names going around to play the lead roles. The latest names to figure in the speculations are Sharwanand and Samantha. A formal announcement on the lead pair is expected soon.

(Content provided by Digital Native)