Malayali cinematographer Nimish Ravi, who shot Dulquer Salmaan's "Lucky Bhaskar" and the superhero blockbuster "Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra", has joined the technical crew of Rishab Shetty's upcoming big-budget project "Jai Hanuman". Nimish is also known for his work on Dulquer's "Kurup", "King of Kotha" and Mammootty's "Rorschach" and "Bazooka".
Production officially commenced recently on the mythological epic helmed by Prasanth Varma. Rishab, fresh off the massive success of "Kantara: Chapter 1", will essay Lord Hanuman in the project, which is the next entry in the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU) launched with the Teja Sajja-starrer "Hanu-Man".
While the first part followed a protagonist who was a Hanuman devotee, the Rishab film will be entirely about the deity himself, with Hanumanthu — Teja Sajja's character from "Hanu-Man" — expected to be appearing as a secondary character.
The makers recently launched the project with a customary puja at the place believed to be Hanuman's birthplace, Karnataka's Anjanadri Betta.
Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers are bankrolling "Jai Hanuman" jointly with Bhushan Kumar and Shiv Chanana of T-Series. Gowra Hari ("Mirai", "Hanu-Man") has been roped in as the music composer.
Aside from "Jai Hanuman", Nimish is looking forward to the release of his Tamil debut "Vishwanath & Sons" starring Suriya and Mamitha Baiju. The film sees Nimish reuniting with "Lucky Bhaskar" director Venky Atluri. Nimish made his feature-length debut with Tovino Thomas-starrer "Luca".
Rishab has three more acting projects in development. They include a yet-to-be-titled historical epic helmed by Ashwin Gangaraju; "Richard Antony", the prequel/sequel/spin-off of the Rishab-Rakshit cult classic "Ulidavaru Kandanthe"; and "The Pride of Bharat - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj" co-starring Shefali Shah.