Rajinikanth has Ambareesh burning midnight oil

The shooting of Ambareesh-starrer Ambi Ning Vaisyatho is halfway through and the actor’s enthusiasm for this film is grabbing everyone’s attention.

According to the film's makers, this is the first time in his career that the veteran actor is burning the midnight oil for a film. Ambareesh, who has been shooting for the film with short schedule-breaks, stays on the sets from 11.30 am till 2 am even, for some portions. This is the first time that he is keeping such hours, and he even shared that with the team members.

Debutant director Gurudatha Ganiga says, “It makes me immensely happy that an actor and a legend is showing such enthusiasm and interest in the film, despite his age.”

The actor is definitely drawn to the character, which suits his age, but apparently, there is another, equally important reason for his fervour. We hear that the Rebel Star’s friend and actor Rajinikanth asked him to watch the Tamil film Power Pandi, the original version of this Kannada remake. Power Pandi, made under Wunderbar Films, was written and directed by Rajinikanth’s son-in-law, Dhanush.

Rajini felt that this role would suit Ambareesh well, and that he must do the project. Meanwhile, Sudeep liked Dhanush’s role in the original and he happened to mention it to the Tamil actor over a discussion. When Ambareesh came to know that Sudeep had the rights of this film, under Kichcha Creations, the two decided to work together, along with Jack Manju.

The happiest person on this project now is the director. “Our team consists of youngsters mostly. Working with such a legend has inspired us all. This made us fall in love with our work once more,” says Gurudatha Ganiga, who likes the way the senior actor livens up the sets.

The young director says that the senior actor keeps delivering ‘punch lines’ at the sets too. “The one you will hear often is 'Ready Ready Ready Ready'. It has now become a tagline of sorts… Of course, this changes every day,” says Gurudatha.

A huge set is being constructed at Mohan B Kere Studio for a song and the shooting for the first half of the film will be completed with a fight sequence. Later the team will travel to Kerala, where portions with Ambareesh and Suhasini will be shot. Sudeep and Sruthi Hariharan’s portions will be shot from mid-March.