Samarjit Lankesh raw and rustic portrayal in and as Gowri

Indrajit Lankesh, who is launching his son, Samarjit Lankesh, in his upcoming directorial venture Gowri, has come up with a pre-release teaser. Cricketer Anil Kumble and producer Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar launched the teaser—a rare approach in Kannada cinema. It gives a first-look glimpse of Samarjit Lankesh's character, and the makers are revealing for the first time that the debutant is playing the titular character in Gowri. "In the film, based on real-life events and set in a village backdrop, Samarjit will portray a raw and rustic character hailing from the grassroots. A shade of his will be seen as an angry young man," says the director, who shared with CE some exclusive stills of Samarjit from the film.

While Samarjit Lankesh has worked on the stunts in the film, the action for the pre-release was choreographed by noted Kannada and Bollywood stunt master Ravi Varma.

Apparently, there are special reasons for Anil Kumble launching the pre-teaser, Indrajit reveals. "My son Samarjit had done a soap ad with Anil Kumble and has been enthusiastic about the cricketer presenting his pre-release teaser. As for Ashwini, it goes back to the previous generations. My father Lankesh was closely associated with Dr Rajkumar, and I had a special connection with Puneeth Rajkumar. Samarjit, who is also a dancer, has been a fan of Puneeth's dancing, which he incorporates into his own dance. This made it all the more special for Ashwini to be part of the launch event," he says.

The film will also be the launchpad for Sanya Iyer, who made the transition from television to the silver screen. Joining her is Sweezal, marking her feature film debut alongside Chandu Gowda and others. Gowri will also have fight sequences choreographed by Different Danny and cinematography handled by AJ Shetty. A handful of music directors—Jassie Gift, Chandan Shetty, among others—are composing music for the film.