Praveen Kumar, who made a splash with his debut in Love 360, especially with the hit song 'Jagave Neenu Gelathiye', is now entering into a commercial subject with his second project, Desai. The film, directed by Nagireddy Badha and produced by Mahantesh V Choladagudda under Veerabhadreshwara Films, is slated to release on June 21.

“After I acted in Love 360, I mostly received offers centering around scripts based on romance, but I wanted to try something mass-oriented. Out of the three scripts I heard, I felt this was the right choice as I had the opportunity to collaborate with a few senior actors,” says Praveen, adding, “I wanted to break away from the trend. Moreover, I often encountered producers who wanted me to share the investment burden, which is challenging for upcoming actors. However, the team behind Desai believed in me, and bankrolled the project.”

Desai has Praveen involved in a lot of adventure, for which he reveals that he had undergone a separate training and even interacted with real-life kusthi players.

Although billed as a mass film, Desai is also a family drama spanning three generations—grandfather, father, and son, which features a large ensemble cast. PKH Das handles the cinematography, and the cast includes Prashanth, Cheluvaraju, Madhusudan Rao, Kalyani, Harini and Manjunath Hegde in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, Praveen has also accepted another film titled Kabi, helmed by debutant director Prithvi, which is set to start filming soon. “I was fortunate to be launched by established director Shashank with Love 360, and now I face the challenge of advancing my career and establishing myself, and my next film Desai and other projects will lead the way,” he concludes.