SANDALWOOD BUZZ

Love goes e-way

When everything is going electronic, can love be far behind? So there is e-Preethi coming your way during Diwali festival. Says director Priya Bharathi: In this era of e-mails and a host of electronic gadgets, love has also got a new meaning. Our set of two heroes and two heroines will show that how. The plot has Diganth playing a techie aspiring to make it big in the US. His project manager will be Tejaswini Prakash while another NRI heroine Nina Mahesh will be a reporter.

There is another character being played by Bharath. There is no dedicated villain or comedian in the film. “But each character will become villain/comedian as the situation warrants,” she says, adding: But in all, the film, a romantic comedy at that, is about the quest for going abroad to realize one’s dreams. E-Preethi, coming from a woman director who often shuttles between Bangalore and the US, may well encapsulate the agony and ecstasy of being a techie abroad. The film crew will soon leave for Washington after shooting the Bangalore part of it.

Engineer, now hero

For Akshay, it was a very short step from engineering to the tinsel world. A BE graduate, he got an offer from a company in Qatar, but his father wanted him to shine in movies. The result: he is the hero in ‘Ganga Kaveri’ directed by B J Vishnukanth and produced by his father Venkatappa. “It is a model photographer’s role with a romantic touch. It is a triangular family love story shot in Kulu Manali and Gangothri,’’ says Akshay not regretting giving up engineer’s post. He has two heroines — Mallika Kapoor and Mahi. Music by K Kalyan has some catchy tunes. H C Venu handles the camera.

FLASHBACK
The first-ever Kannada film festival held outside India was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in 1971. The week-long festival opened on August 14. Six films — Samskara, Gejjepooje, Subba Shastri, Namma Makkalu, Chakratheertha and Uyyale — were screened. A delegation of filmmakers was sent from Karnataka for the festival. This included legendary film director Puttanna Kanagal and Kalpana. The same year saw the emergence of a film festival as part of the Dasara celebrations in Mysore.

Love triangle... er... hexagon!

Meet Dimple Chopra, a Pune theatre enthusiast. Director Ashok Kashyap has roped her in for his debut Kannada movie Sihi Muttu for which shooting has begun in Shimoga and its surroundings. “I wanted a face that has a look of Malnad region. She was a perfect fit,” says Kashyap, who is directing this after directing a Tamil movie. In the heroine-oriented Sihi Muttu, the heroine comes to a city in search of her ancestors. But she happens to meet five different men at different points of time. So meeting her will be Prem, Dhyaan, Komal and “two other top names of filmdom”. Kashyap says talks are on with Shivrajkumar and another hero from Mumbai. Rekha Rani scripted the story for which Harikrishna will compose music.

7-day fun

made a mark as a comedian, will play the lead role. Others in the cast include Anant Nag and Ramesh Bhat. There is no Mr Garagasa, the Kannada movie, is making news. It is a full-length comedy shot in 7 days by director Dinesh Baboo. Komal, who hasdishum-dishum. Komal says the asset of the movie is the acting by the principal characters. Aishwarya and Lakshmi are the two heroines. Manikant Kadri has scored the music.

Romance in the air

Harsha of Geleya fame will now direct Birugaali. Produced under the Adarsh Enterprises banner, this new venture has Aa Dinagalu fame hero Chetan in the lead role. Two heroines —- Sitara Vaidya (Geleya fame) and fresh face Akanksha — share stellar honours. To be shot mainly in Bangalore and Kasargod, this romantic movie has a 55-day schedule. “Not even a single sequence will be taken from other language movies,’’ says Harsha. He adds the movie will have a unique screenplay. Arjun, who scored music for Geleya, will compose music for the film, which has seven songs.