Writer-director Manju Maandavya begins innings as a hero

The launch of the trailer and music of Manju Maandavya-Chikkanna-starrer Sri Bharatha Baahubali was held in the city recently. Talking about the movie, which marks his debut as a hero, Manju says, “While I have acted in character roles before, this is my first outing as the leading man. It will see me and Chikkanna back together on screen, again. I play Bharatha and he essays the character of Baahubali.”
The cast and crew share that when Manju approached them and said that he would be playing the lead, they were all quite quizzical about the decision. Music director Manikanth Kadri says, “I knew that Manju is multi-talented. I am aware of his prowess as a writer, director and lyricist — he has also sung a song in the film. He is such a cool person to work with. But, when he told me that he was playing the lead, I was initially wondering how he would pull off the role.” Chikkanna chips in, “When Manju narrated the script to me, I too asked him if he was sure about taking on the lead role. However, after working with him in this movie and having seen the final output, I now know that he fits the part really well. He has also worked really hard to shed oodles of weight and become fitter for this role.” The event saw Sarah Harish, Shreya Shetty, Srinivas Murthy, Prakhyath Paramesh and Kari Subbu, among others in attendance.