Zaid Khan to star in debut director Puneeth Rudranag's action thriller

Zaid Khan, who made his debut with director Jayathirtha’s Banaras, has given the green light to his next film, which will mark the directorial debut of Puneeth Rudranag. The actor’s sophomore project will be a thrilling action-packed story with a touch of romance. “This film will be in contrast to my debut, Banaras. I’m excited to be part of a commercial plot,” says Zaid Khan.

Puneeth Rudranag, who previously assisted director Prashanth Neel in KGF Chapter-1, was supposed to direct a film with Yuvarajkumar but the project did not take off for undisclosed reasons. Now, his upcoming project with Zaid Khan will mark his directorial debut. The script and screenplay for the film are written by Bhageerath.

The project is in the initial stages of preparation, and the film is expected to go on floors in August. “The film got delayed due to the festive season of Ramzan, and later I got busy with the election campaign. I will soon sit with the director to discuss the characterisation and take some time to prepare for the role,” says Zaid, who is happy with the drive of Puneeth, and his unique thought process. “I saw footages of what he had presented for Yuvarajkumar, and they were excellent. We are now in the initial stages of discussion, and there will be more to tell in the coming days,” says Zaid.

Puneeth expresses his excitement about portraying Zaid Khan as an action hero. “My expertise lies in action and dance sequences, and from what I’ve seen of Zaid Khan, I see he has the potential to become an action hero. I want to take up a challenging subject for him that will bring out this aspect of his acting,” he says.