After KISS, which starred Virat and Sreeleela, AP Arjun is now getting ready to direct a film for Nikhil Kumar. This is the first time the actor and the director are collaborating for a project. NK Entertainments, the production house owned by Nikhil Kumar, will bankroll this film.

Arjun says that he has completed almost fifty per cent of the script. “It’s a commercial entertainer, but the speciality is that it’s an intense subject which will be close to reality, portraying raw emotions,” says the director. “Genre-wise, this is a first-of-its-kind attempt from my end, and a completely different genre from my previous films” he adds, pointing out that the subject will fit Nikhil’s personality and attitude. “It will not have a trace of his political backdrop. It is going to be a pure commercial entertainer,” Arjun clarifies.

The filmmaker is currently making use of the lockdown period to complete the writing process. He is also planning to bring together an interesting cast. “We are looking to sign up artistes mostly coming from a theatre background. However, these are still early stages, and we will be deciding the details once I am done with the script,” he says.

An official announcement about the project was made on Nikhil Kumar’s birthday, but the makers are planning to start shooting only after the latter completes his present commitments.

The actor was shooting for Vijay Kumar Konda’s film before the country came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The team is now left with 30 days of the shoot. After this, Nikhil will join the sets of Arjun’s film.

Meanwhile, Nikhil is busy with preparations for his wedding with Revathi. The event is expected to be a low key affair owing to the lockdown. The actor also did his bit for the fight against coronavirus by depositing Rs 3000 each to the bank account of the daily wage workers of the Kannada film industry.