Before ‘KGF’, Prashanth Neel had a dream project for Puneeth Rajkumar called ‘Ahvana’

Director Prashanth Neel rose to fame after the humongous success of ‘KGF’. But, earlier, the filmmaker had a completely different project in mind by the name ‘Ahvana’ with the same banner that later bankrolled the Yash starrer. Interestingly, he had the late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar in mind for the film.Recently, while speaking about his upcoming film ‘Dragon’ with Jr NTR, Prashanth Neel as per a Cinema Express report, shared details about this long-forgotten project. He revealed that ‘Ahvana’ was actually his first collaboration planned with the makers who later backed ‘KGF’.Prashanth Neel said ‘Ahvana’ was written especially for Puneeth Rajkumar. According to him, the character was designed keeping Puneeth’s personality and screen presence in mind. The director felt that the actor was the perfect choice for the role and believed nobody else could bring the same charm and emotion to the character.Because of this strong connection, Neel always looked at ‘Ahvana’ as a very personal project. He wanted to make the film exactly as he had imagined it with Puneeth in the lead role.Even though the team was interested in the project, the film could not move forward. The biggest problem was scheduling. At that time, Puneeth Rajkumar had already committed to several other films and was occupied with a busy lineup.Finding suitable dates became difficult. Despite multiple efforts, the schedules never matched. As the delays continued, ‘Ahvana’ remained only on paper and never entered production.After Ahvana did not happen, Prashanth Neel met Hombale Films once again and narrated a scene from another idea he was developing. That idea later became ‘KGF’. The makers were impressed by what they heard and decided to back the project.Prashanth Neel admitted that ‘Ahvana’ was deeply connected to Puneeth Rajkumar. After the actor’s untimely passing in 2021, the director felt that the film also went away with him, as he could never imagine anyone else playing that role.Prashanth Neel is now working with Jr NTR on ‘Dragon’. The film is scheduled to hit the big screens on June 11, 2027.