Debutant director Puneeth decodes 400-year-old history for Yuva Rajkumar’s launch

Puneeth, who has previously worked as an associate with Prashanth Neel in KGF Chapter 1, will be directing Yuva Rajkumar’s launch vehicle. The debutant director is currently working on the script, and getting ready to face the challenge of bringing on screen a story which, he says, has never been told before. Puneeth has decided on a subject dated 400 years ago, and according to the writer-director, it has not been documented in history.

Explaining how he went about conceptualising the story, Puneeth says, “It was a police constable from Ballari, a fan of Annavru (Dr Rajkumar), who gave the lead for this historical subject, which is currently being developed.”

The director, who is in the final stages of writing the screenplay, adds, “Along with my team, I recently visited Ballari, near the banks of Tungabhadra, where we had a look at the monuments and remains of a fort, which is not protected by the government. We even discussed it with the people living in the surrounding area, who gave us a brief about the history and the importance of the place, and that’s something which is getting decoded now.”

Coming up with a subject from that period is challenging, says Puneeth, adding that the film will be half-real and half-fiction. “Though the story will be based on true incidents, the narrative will be cinematic,” he says. 

The team is looking at launching the film only after theatres reopen. “We are looking at a grand launch event, and we want to release the launch video on the big screen. And it will only happen when theatres reopen,” says Puneeth.

Meanwhile, Yuva Rajkumar, son of Raghavendra Rajkumar, who is making his debut, is doing all the homework from his end and getting ready to face the camera. He is in constant touch with the director and the team to discuss the storyboard.