Produced by UAE resident Harish Bangera and directed by another UAE resident, Ashwath Samuel, this film joined the one- crore club
“You can conquer your fears only by confronting them, says UAE resident and debutant director Ashwath Samuel.
Samuel’s debut film, ‘Anukta’, quickly joined the Rs10 million (Dh515,573) club post its release in India on February 1.
This psychological thriller grew from an idea put forward by television actor Karthik Attavar and then developed by Samuel into a gripping screenplay.
“Moments from my life where I overcome my fears inspired me to write this screenplay,” said Samuel who earlier worked in India for television channels including Sony TV, Sahara One and NDTV Imagine. He now works as creative director with Rahbani Productions, Dubai.
Attavar is a household name with his Kannada television serial, ‘Yashode.’ With ‘Anukta’, he moves into cinema.
He plays a police officer who comes to live in an ancestral home with his wife to probe a murder case there.
The trailer while hinting at a murder mystery also includes the Deivakola, the diving culture of Tulu people in the story. Sangeeta Bhat is paired opposite Attavar.
Sampath Raj and Anu Prabhakar play key roles as husband and wife.
After playing an easy-going young man in ‘Yashode’, Attavar says he had to work hard to transform himself into a responsible police officer for ‘Anukta.’
“My director suggested that I live like a policeman even at home. That was not difficult having grown up with a father who worked in the police force, said Attavar. His parents were surprised to see a changed man in their son.
The difficult part for him was performing in the presence of senior actors like Sampath Raj and Anu Prabhakar.
“I had to match pace with them,” recalled Attavar. “Neither were the emotional scenes easy. This was a great learning experience.”
‘Anukta’ was a dream come true for this Mangalore native and former software professional who quit a lucrative career to follow his passion for acting.
‘Anukta’ is produced by Harish Bangera, a UAE resident for over two decades. Bangera manages Dubai Source, an advertising company.
Look out for local actors namely Chidanana poojari, Claudy Dleema, Depth Salian, Sunil Suvarna, Vasukumar Shetty, Suvarna Poojary and master Divith Dinraj Shetty as supporting cast members.
Nobin Paul has scored music. Cinematography is by Manohar Joshi.
‘Anukta’ releases in the UAE on February 14.
