'Varsha' - new Kannada movie starring Vishnuvardhan and Maanya

This is not 'Varsha' as in 'Hosa Varsha' clarified director S. Narayan when we visited Rockline Studio where the second schedule of Vishnuvardhan starrer 'Varsha' was moving briskly. This remake of Telugu flick 'Hitler' was also made in Malayalam in the past. Director S. Narayan is a happy man with his recent movie Mourya going towards 100 days and Chandra Chakori being awarded as Third Best Film of the year 2004 by the State Government! He is striking back with Vishnuvardhan after two and half years. Varsha is his consecutive second film for producer Rockline Venkatesh after Mourya.

Producer Rockline Venkatesh, Vishnuvardhan and director S. Narayan

Producer Rockline Venkatesh, Vishnuvardhan and director S. Narayan

For Vishnuvardhan, its no new subject. After Nagara Haavu he has acted in many films that deals with family bonding. So is 'Varsha' - story of a brother who is very possessive and protective to his seven sisters. This elder brother's behavior at times makes fatherless sisters think he is harsh to them but there is a reason for everything he does. These consequences form the whole story.

Since it was the second day of the year when we visited the spot, obviously the conversation turned towards last year. "2004 was a disaster for me" said Vishnu. "The year will be good for me only when a producer who invests on me comes and says he is happy. But that didn't happen yet!" he added philosophically.

Maanya, a new Telugu girl is the counterpart for Vishnuvardhan in Varsha. Though this is her Kannada debut, she has acted in 12 Malayalam movies and also in Tamil and Telugu films. Interestingly, she is pretty affluent in Kannada! Her interest to learn multiple languages made her learn Kannada when she used to visit Bangalore during her vacations! And she is familiar with other South Indian languages as well! Apparently, Maanya was in a shooting at Kanyakumari when the recent natural disaster of tsunami took place. This brave young girl has decided to adapt two orphan kids from there! She made a humble request to everyone to lend their helping hands to the tsunami victims whom she has seen suffering. We can recall that all member of Snehaloka (of Vishnuvardhan) together have donated Rs. 1lakh to tsunami relief fund.

Actress Anu Prabhakar and Vishnuvardhan

'Varsha' also features Ramesh Aravind, Anu Prabhakar and Sunil Rao in key roles. Anu pairs Ramesh while Sunil plays a guest appearance of a naughty young man. According to producer Rockline Venkatesh, the way Simhadriya Simha was adapted to suite the local taste, even Varsha will not be a frame to frame remake but its only the main story thread that has been taken from Hitler. Shobharaj, Ramesh Bhat, Srinivas Murthy, Doddanna and other are among the supporting cast. This year's State Award winner P.K.H. Das is behind the camera for Varsha that has five songs.