Venkat Bharadwaj’s next film, Rakki, has kickstarted with Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar giving the first clap. The film, produced by Saligrama Suresh under the SNR Productions banner, introduces debutant Rakki in the lead, a name that fittingly shares its title with the film.

For producer Suresh, originally from Saligrama and settled in Germany for two decades, this project is both personal and nostalgic. His father, Rajasekhar, produced Dr Rajkumar’s Hosabelaku, and now his son takes the baton forward, marking the family’s return to Kannada cinema.

Director Venkat Bharadwaj calls Rakki an action-suspense drama with an emotional core. “The title reflects the nature of the protagonist,” he explains. “Like a lit firecracker, you can never predict when he will burst into action.”

Interestingly, the film came to life after Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar heard the story and gave her approval. “The producer wanted her to be the first to listen to the script,” Venkat recalls. “She connected with it instantly, and that gave us the green light to move ahead.”

The cast includes Ashika Somashekhar and Pallavi Manjunath in lead roles, along with B Suresh, Harini Srikanth, Sundar Raj, Ramesh Pandit, Sampath Maithreya, and Gante Govinda. The technical team features Loki Tavasiya on music, Issacs Prabhakar handling cinematography, and Deepu S Kumar in charge of editing.

Rakki, who completed his engineering studies in Germany before training for acting, expressed his gratitude for the support. “It feels special to begin my journey with Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar’s blessing. This moment will always stay close to my heart,” he shared. Actor B Suresh, who plays a character named Danny, believes the film’s tone and treatment will make it stand apart. “There is freshness in the way the story unfolds,” he says.