Karva 3 to bring Tilak and Meghana Gaonkar together on the big screen

Karva 3 will be the next film to be made under the banner of Swarnalatha Productions. Producer Krishna Chaitanya, who has previously made films like 6-5=2 and Dia, is now taking up this project, which will also have Dr Suri on board as a producer.

The makers, who are coming up with two sequels to the hit film, Karva, will be keeping Karva 2, directed by Navaneeth, on hold, and will start next with Karva 3, which will mark the directorial debut of Vishal Shekar. The talking point of this film will also be the lead star cast, which includes real-life best friends, Tilak Shekar and Meghana Gaonkar. Though they have known each other for a long time, this film will their first on-screen outing together.

Confirming the news, Krishna Chaitanya said, “Newcomer Vishal Shekar has come up with a fantastic script which I felt will be a unique subject for a horror thriller. He is now getting ready with the storyboard, and this will be the next project to go on floors as soon as the cinema industry gets to start shooting.” According to the producer, Karva 3 will take a link from Karva, and will also feature a few artistes from part 1. They are yet to finalise on the rest of the cast and technical crew.

Krishna Chaitanya asked me to narrate a story, and it clicked: Vishal Shekar

Debutant director Vishal Shekar comes from a fine arts and animation background and is currently working with a multinational company. He was simultaneously pursuing his dream of turning director, which finally came to reality with Karva 3. It was a stint making short movies that got him his first feature film.

“Krishna Chaitanya had watched my short film and he asked me to narrate a story. That's how this project came about,” says Vishal, who is currently getting ready with the film’s storyboard. “We are working on the dialogues, and coming up with character sketches and placements, as this will help us be organised when we get to the sets,” he adds.

Looking forward to exploring a horror thriller for the first time: Meghana Gaonkar

It all happened over a meeting with producer Krishna Chaitanya, says Meghana, adding that she is excited to have bagged Karva 3. “When I met the producer, they were discussing this project and offered the female lead to me. I had watched Karva and had liked the film directed by Navaneeth. It had good content, and music director Ravi Basrur had come up with an excellent background score. So when I heard the gist of Karva 3, I decided to be a part of the project,” says Meghana, who will be exploring a horror subject for the first time.

“I am glad I got an opportunity to play the lead. I would have accepted this even if the producer had offered me a special role in any of his projects because I can’t say ‘no’ to Krishna Chaitanya,” she adds.

About being paired opposite Tilak, Meghana says, “Though we have known each other for many years, this is the first subject to bring us together. Even though I was approached to work with Tilak in a few projects when I started my career, I had to let go of them because the script did not work well for us. However, this story by Vishal Shekar is good and fits the bill. We are both looking forward to bringing our best on screen,” she says.

We were looking for right subject that will raise expectations: Tilak Shekar

Tilak has been waiting to get back to work and is looking to start shooting for Karva 3. “When we presented Karva, which had an open-end, to the audience, there was always a curiosity element about what next will come from the team. From our end, we were looking for the right subject that will raise the expectations, which came through Vishal Shekar’s script. I am excited to work on this project,” says Tilak, who was also a part of Karva.

Karva 2 will happen after Karva 3, he reveals. “We wanted to be unique and innovative in our thoughts, and given the kind of entertainment we are getting on digital platforms, we as filmmakers should give people something they haven’t seen before. That’s the reason we decided to go a little ahead, and go ahead with part 3 and come back to part 2,” he says.

Talking about getting paired opposite Meghana, Tilak says, “It was unfortunate that having known each other for so long, we didn’t get an opportunity to work together. However, I am glad it is happening now, and with a great script. We were looking for an actor, who can play that mature role, and she perfectly fits the bill.”