Kannada hit 'First Rank Raju' to be remade in Telugu

Kannada film First Rank Raju is all set to be remade in Telugu. Impressed by the message-oriented film that has been told humorously, the filmmakers have decided to remake it in Telugu. The film will be helmed by Maruthi and the prep work to get it on to the floors has begun.

The Kannada version was directed by Naresh Kumar HN who had also penned the story. He had written the script in association with Ashwin Kodange and Thrilok Reddy. The film was produced by VK Manjunath under his banner Dolphin Entertainment.

Released on 27 November 2015, First Rank Raju starred Gurunandan, Apoorva Gowda, Tanishka Kapoor, Achyuth Kumar, Sudha Belawadi, Ananth Nag, Jai Jagadish and Giri Mahesh. Kiran Ravindranath had composed music for this venture with Praveen Shambulingam cranking the camera and Giri Mahesh editing it.

First Rank Raju investigates the importance of educational qualifications and shows how that alone is not sufficient to lead to success in life. The film was a commercial success as well. Made on a budget of Rs 3 crores, First Rank Raju went on to collect Rs16.5 crores at the box office.

Director Maruthi, who will be wielding the megaphone for the Telugu version, is confident of the film’s success in Tollywood due to its universal appeal. The director added that the crux of the storyline would be retained in the original and some changes would be made to suit the tastes of the Telugu film buffs.

The director is busy assembling his star cast and crew and will be making an official announcement regarding it soon.

(Content provided by Digital Native)