Kannada actor Dhananjaya will soon be making his mark in other south Indian film industries as well. Reports are that the actor is on a spree signing deals in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Incidentally, Dhananjaya currently has the Kannada-Telugu film Pogaru in the works, which will mark his debut in Tollywood. Pogaru, directed by Nanda Kishore, has Dhruva Sarja in the lead, with Shanvi Srivastava and Rashmika Mandanna playing the female leads. The star cast includes Dhananjay, P Ravishankar, Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna and Kuri Pratap roped in for the supporting roles. The technical crew of Pogaru includes Chandan Shetty for music and Vijay Milton for cinematography; the film is bankrolled by BK Gangadhar under his banner.
Dhananjaya also has the Puneeth Rajkumar starrer Kannada-Telugu bilingual Yuvarathnaa, in which he will reportedly be portraying the villain. Directed by Santosh Ananddram, the film is bankrolled by Vijay Kiragandur under his banner Hombale Films. Reports are that Puneeth will be seen as a college student in Yuvarathnaa, and the film’s title comes with the tagline ‘Power of Youth’, which indicates that the film will touch upon political matters. Prakash Raj has also been roped in for the project, and sources that he may appear either as a professor or the principal of the college.
Dhananjaya is also part of the Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa, directed by Sukumar. This action thriller also has Prakash Raj and Jagapathi Babu in pivotal roles with Harish Uthaman, Vennela Kishore and Anish Kuruvilla forming the supporting cast. Rashmika Mandanna plays the female lead in it. The technical crew of Pushpa includes Devi Sri Prasad for music, with Miroslaw Kuba Brozek handling the cinematography and Karthika Srinivas in charge of the editing. The film is bankrolled by Y Naveen and Y Ravi Shankar under their banner Mythri Movie Makers.
Besides these films, Dhananjaya is looking forward to making his Kollywood debut with Paayum Oli Nee Enakku. The film is being directed by debutant Karthik Chowdary. Reports are that the actor will appear in the film in a rugged avatar. Details about this project are expected to be out soon. Dhananjaya had also recently inked the deal to star in a Vijay Milton directorial that will have musician-turned-actor Vijay Anthony in the lead.
Further, the actor has recently wrapped up a Kannada-Malayalam film. The film is directed by noted ad filmmaker Jayashankar. According to Dhananjaya, he speaks in English and Kannada in the film, while his co-star speaks in English and Malayalam.
In an interview with the Times of India, Dhananjaya spoke about making his mark across south Indian films. He said, “We need to put in those efforts from our side. I am fortunate that I am getting to work with good filmmakers and am being given good roles. I believe we need to progress one step at a time. These films have come to me organically. In the meantime, if these small steps can help me, then it is great.”
(Content provided by Digital Native)