Talents across states are being pooled for Darshan’s 50th film Kurukshetra, to be directed by Naganna. As of today, the star cast includes Ravichandran as Krishna and Sneha as Draupadi, with Lakshmi, Regina Cassandra and Hariprriya playing pivotal roles. The latest actor to join the team is wrestler turned actor Danish Akhtar Saifi, who stands tall at six feet six inches.
After walking into the limelight with his role as Hanuman in Siya Ke Ram, he will now play Bheema in Kurukshetra. Danish, who is excited about his Kannada silver screen debut, was initially spotted by the TV series director at a sporting event.
While Nikhil Sinha, director of Siya Ke, watched one of Danish’s wrestling matches and brought him on board as Hanuman in the TV serial, for Kurukshetra, apparently actor Darshan spotted Danish and told the filmmakers to consider him for the role of Bheema.
“After playing Hanuman in Ramayana, I get to play Bheema of Mahabharata; it is definitely exciting,” says Danish, who is currently busy with the show Mahakali.
“Darshan, the super star of the Kannada industry, is the actor who got me this big project,” says Danish. “He spotted me at a gym in Hyderabad, where we both were working out. He knew that I was playing the role of Hanuman in the TV series because our shooting was taking place in the same location, where he was also shooting for one of his films. Apparently, he told the production house about me. They called me and I had no second thoughts about being part of the epic drama.”
Danish will be joining the sets in the first week of August. Meanwhile, the mega project produced by Munirathna with Jayashree Devi on board as executive producer is all set to be launched on July 30, with the movie going on floors from August first week.