When the mist of suspense cleared!

It was a film party given to honor that year’s National Award winners of Kannada industry. I was there to express my respects to senior film makers there. A senior friend and well wisher of mine introduced me to one of the leading producers in Kannada film Industry, K. Manju. He is well known in the Kannada industry to make different kind of tasteful films. We had a small interaction that night. He was excited to know that Mammootty sir had agreed to be a part of Shikari. He asked me to contact him the next morning.

We had several meetings there after and discussed the possibility of realizing this project. K. Manju has very high regards to Mammootty sir and decided to make this film. After all, it is a historical film where Mammootty sir would be entering Kannada Film Industry!

K. Manju and my self met Mammootty sir several times to discuss the further details of the project. And things started rolling faster as I had a regular producer who knows the tricks of the trade and knows his ways through the thick of the Kannada Film Industry.

Now we had to finalize on the core team for Shikari. Dr. Vikram who is a dear friend of mine is an excellent cameraman. My classmate and room mate at the Film and Television Institute of India. Ever since I made my first short film, Vikram has been with me. He graduated in BDS and practiced for a year. But his passion for cinema was so strong that he left his well established practice and joined the film school. He was the cameraman who shot my first film Gubbachigalu (which was even his first independent work) but before Shikari started shooting, Vikram had finished two more independent films. However, he was with me ever since I had penned down the first draft of script for Shikari. We had discussed in depth about the visual elements which would suit this film. Vikram is a passionate cinematographer working with whom is a sheer joy. So he immediately came on board.

When it comes to Music, Harikrishna is a big name in Kannada Film Industry. In the recent years, he has suddenly shined bright and made some real breathtaking work in the Kannada Industry. Winning critical acclaim and at the same time giving box office stealer is Harikrishna’s style. A humble human being and a wonderful creator. When I narrated the script of Shikari to him, he immediately jumped in to the project. He loved the script of Shikari and at the same time, getting a chance to score tunes for a film with Mammootty sir was a huge attraction for him.

S. Manohar is a very senior editor in Kannada Film Industry. He is a Malyali from Chennai who works only in Kannada Film Industry. A strange combination but a very effective for a film like Shikari which is being shot in two languages! Twice state award winner for his editing skills, Manohar is an experienced hand in editing. He had recently done few films for K. Manju production. When I casually asked, Girish Kasaravalli sir had highly recommended him. Thus Manoharji came on board for Shikari.

The team was thus building up slowly on after the other.