Nagabharana will not direct Chiranjeevi Sarja’s Jugari Cross, says producer Kaddipudi Chandru 

Chiranjeevi Sarja’s next film, Jugari Cross, produced by Kaddipudi Chandru, was launched on February 10 with a simple pooja, and was supposed to be helmed by TS Nagabharana. The makers had started the location hunt and planned to start shooting soon. But, at the last minute, it has been announced that the suspense thriller will not be directed by Nagabharana.

Confirming this news, producer Chandru says that he was initially keen on working with a senior director like Nagabharana, but now he is forced to look for a new filmmaker to take the reins. “I am unable to meet the budget expectations of Nagabharana for Jugari Cross. I've discussed this with his son and director Pannaga Bharana. After much thought, I have decided to go with another director, who can match my budget and the search is on,” says Kaddipudi Chandru.

Jugari Cross is inspired by the book written by Poornachandra Tejasvi. The makers had previously signed senior actors Rangayana Raghu and Karisubbu for the film. With Harish Bagalawadi in charge of the screenplay and dialogues, Vasuki Vaibhav was announced as the music director and HC Venu as the film's cinematographer. There is no confirmation yet on whether the cast and crew will remain unchanged except for the director.

Incidentally, director Kodlu Ramakrishna had earlier initiated this project with Shivarajkumar, but the project did not take off due to unknown reasons.