Can’t wait to return to sets in September for Madagaja: Sriimurali

Seventeen years of Roarism - that’s how Sriimurali’s fans celebrated the actor’s film journey in Sandalwood. Having made his debut with Chandra Chakori, which was released on August 15, 2003, the Kanti actor has since then been associated with 24 films. Known as the Roaring Star among his fans, Sriimurali saw success and failures, before Ugramm, directed by Prashanth Neel, gave a U-turn to his career. Happy to have travelled this far, Sriimurali says the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t let him enjoy his this milestone. “The pandemic has spoilt our happiness. Other than that, I feel blessed with the path I have taken, and having earned so much love from fans and industry colleagues, I look forward to doing more work,” he says.

Sriimurali had planned to start three projects in 2020, which could not get materialised, and the actor is now gearing up to resume shooting for Madagaja from September first week. The film, directed by Mahesh Kumar, and produced under the banner of Umapathy Films, had been started earlier this year, and 25 percent of the shoot was done in Varanasi before the lockdown was clamped. The team is now planning the next schedule, for which a new set is being created at Minerva Mills by the art director. “I can’t wait to get back to the sets and start the shoot. We are done with relaxation, and it’s time we cover whatever has been missed out. However, we will join the sets with a lot of cautions. We are making sure to bring all kinds of safety measures, and it will be quite challenging,” he says.

Madagaja has Ashika Ranganath paired opposite Sriimurali as the female lead. The film has five tracks composed by Ravi Basrur, for which lyrics have been written by Chethan Kumar, Kinnal Raj, and the music director himself. DOP Naveen Kumar, who has worked in Mufti, is handling the camera for Madagaja.