Engineer-turned-advocate KR Murali Krishna will make his directorial debut with Gara. While he has produced a number of films, this is his first outing as a director. Interestingly, this film is inspired by RK Narayan’s Astrologer’s Day.

“Short stories written by RK Narayan will get the viewer into a questioning mode. It’s deep story told in a simplistic manner. As an advocate, when I read Astrologer’s Day, I too, had a number of questions, whose answers eventually became the subject of my film,” says the first-time director.

The makers are now targeting a May 3 release for the film that stars Rehman, Aditya Aryan, Neha Pattil and Avanthika. It also has ace comedian Johnny Lever making his Kannada debut; he will be sharing screen space with Sadhu Kokila.

Bollywood dance choreographer Saroj Khan is directing two songs for Gara.