Naina Ganguly to make her Kannada debut with Rajavardan’s Pranayam

Naina Ganguly, who is known for her recent collaborations with director Ram Gopal Varma, is making her debut in Sandalwood. Naina, who has worked in Bengali, Telugu, and Hindi, will be making her Kannada debut with Pranayam, which stars Rajavardan in the lead role. 

Pranayam will mark Rajavardan's second film after Bichhugathii Chapter 1 - Dalavayi Dange.

Naina made the announcement of her Sandalwood entry via a social media post, which read “Script reading session of my upcoming project along with actor Rajavardan, and debutant director Dattatreya.”

Sharing the details of the shoot, Naina says, “We will begin shooting in the next couple of days for a 15-day schedule.” This project will be bankrolled by Paramesh of P2 Productions, who has previously backed films like Ambari, Pallaki, Parijatha, O Gulabi, Ganapa, and Kariya 2.

About shooting in a new language, Naina says, “Being a Bengali, South Indian languages feel challenging to me. It’s going to be a new experience in Kannada for me. Thankfully,  the producer, director and hero Rajavardan are being supportive and helping with the dialogues.”

For Naina, it is the plot that made her say yes to the project. She shares, “Pranayam is a fresh story for me. Being a family drama, the film provides me with a great scope for performance. I'm sure the film will bring out the performer in me.”

Talking about her films with Ram Gopal Varma, who she calls a "school", Naina says, “He gives opportunities to all newcomers, and encourages artists from a non-filmy background. I can go on for hours talking about him. It is hard to restrict it to a few sentences. I have learnt a lot under his guidance. If not for him, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Pranayam will mark the return of Mungaru Male music director Mano Murthy. Nagesh Acharya is onboard the project as the cinematographer.