Director Karthik Dandu’s Virupaksha, which released on April 21, garnered critical acclaim, in addition to having a decent run at the box office. The filmalso made noise due to Karthik’s notable collaboration with Sukumar. In an exclusive interaction with Cinema Express, Karthik revealed how Sukumar was instrumental in changing the second antagonist of the film.

Sharing some exclusive details about the collaborative writing process between him and Sukumar, Karthik revealed Sukumar’s contribution in changing the second antagonist from Parvathakka (played by Shyamala) to Nandini (Samyuktha), who is also the film’s female lead. This change has played a huge role in shaping the climax of the film. Explaining the change in detail, Karthik adds, “While I initially envisioned Parvathakka as the antagonist in the third act of the film, Sukumar asked me to change the villain to Nandini. He told me that the climax must have a blast of an impact to it. It was his idea, and this idea changed the direction of my film’s entire screenplay.”

Sukumar has not only helped the former write the screenplay of the film, but has also produced the film under his home banner Sukumar Writings. This production house has been at the forefront of encouraging new talent, be it with Buchi Babu Sana for Uppena (2021) or now Virupaksha. 

Virupaksha also stars Brahmaji, Sunil, Rajeev Kanakala, Kamal Kamaraju and Abhinav Gomatam in supporting roles. Kantara-fame music director B Ajaneesh Lokanath has provided the music and the background score of the film, with cinematography by Shamdat and editing by Navin Nooli. 

Watch full interaction: