Exclusive: Naveen is the voice of farmers in his next

Actor Naveen Shankar has shot for Kshetrapati, a film revolving around the agrarian cridsis. Set in Gadag in North Karnataka, the project marks the debut of Srikanth Katagi in Sandalwood and also sees Archana Jois in a pivotal role.
Naveen, known to be selective in choosing scripts, says, “We have taken up a revolutionary subject which has national relevance because agriculture is in deep crisis.I play an engineering dropout who returns to his country to fight for farmers. I am from a family of farmers who had to return to their native village to ensure the farming community survives. We have used authentic north Karnataka language and my look will be the highlight of the movie. Director Srikanth is also from north Karnataka, so he has enough knowledge about the plight of farmers in the region.”
The actor is also teaming up with Dhananjaya in Hoysala in a never-seen-before avatar. “My role will be a surprise for everyone. I will be going through a physical transformation to get into the skin of the character,” he says.
Naveen Shankar, whose last release was Gultoo in 2018, is hoping to have many releases this year. “Dharani Mandala Madyadholage, Hondisi Bareiyiri and Nodidavaru Enanthare, which is based on travel, are most likely to get released in this year,” he sums up.