It was announced several months ago that Upendra’s next will be Kabza, directed by R Chandru, with whom he had worked with in I Love You. The update about this film is that it was launched with a lot of fanfare, with the official pooja held on Saturday.

Touted to be a high budget film, Kabza will be released in seven languages including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and Bengali, with plans to dub it in Chinese.

The film’s story will revolve around the life of a powerful underworld don played by Upendra. The film is set in the 1980s and will feature a bevy of stars from various industries, including Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Jayaprakash Reddy, Pradeep Rawat, Manoj Bajpai, Samuthirakani and Nana Patekar (who was accused of sexual harassment by Tanushree Dutta). These actors will reportedly play the villains in the film.

Speaking about the film, director Chandru had told The Hindu, “I did detailed research on the underworld dons of 80s, especially on their mannerisms.” Calling Kabza a new generation film, Upendra said it will be a “fresh take to an underworld story. My role is of an underworld don, who wants to do something good.”

Several locations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Madurai and Mangaluru have been earmarked for the shooting.

I love You, Upendra’s earlier film with director Chandru, released in June last year. The film, which was also bankrolled by Chandru, starred Upendra and Rachita Ram in the lead roles. Sonu Gowda played a pivotal role in this flick, while a host of actors featured in supporting roles. The technical crew of I Love You included music by Kiran Thotambyle and cinematography by Sugnaan with Deepu S Kumar doing the edits. The Telugu version of this film was released in the Telugu-speaking states to positive reviews.

(Content provided by Digital Native)