Rajendra Singh Babu’s Veera Kambala, made in Kannada and Tulu has philanthropist Veerendra Heggade playing a cameo. A picture of Veerendra Hegde putting up makeup recently went viral and he is now said to have completed shooting his portions.

Speaking to CE, Rajendra Babu explained why he was particular about having Veerendra Heggade play this particular role. “Buffalo race, a folk sport, went through some complications in 1972, and there were difficulties in organising the race. It was Veerendra Heggade, who took the initiative and resumed the traditional sport, and since then he has been considered a patron of Kambala Race. So, I felt who better than Veerendra Heggade to play this pivotal role. I am glad he obliged,” says the director, adding, “I have known him for the last 50 years, and we have even played cricket together. He was first seen on the silver screen as a child artiste in Sri Dharmasthala Mahathme, which was directed by my father, and this will be his second outing.”

Veera Kambala, written by Rajendra Singh Babu, has Prakash Raj, Ravi Shankar, and Radhika Narayan in pivotal roles.

Backed by Arun Rao of AR Productions banner, Veera Kambala has music by Khadri Manikanth and cinematography by R Giri. It also stars real Kambala racers Srinivas Gowda and Swaraj playing the lead roles, apart from Naveen Padil, Gopinath Bath, Rajashekar Kotiyan, Mime Ramesh, Usha Bhandari, Bhojaraja Vamanjur, Geetha Surathkal, Suresh Shetty, Divya, Santosh Shetty, Yuva Shetty, Hardik Padival, and Santosh, among others.

The makers are aiming for an April release.