Gultoo filmmaker Janardhan Chikkanna's next is set in the 90s

Filmmaker Janardhan Chikkanna won critical and audience acclaim for his debut film Gultoo. He is now all set to embark on his next project, which is an as-yet-untitled crime thriller that is set in the 1990s. This project will be bankrolled by filmmaker Hemanth M Rao, who says he loves the young filmmaker's work.

"This is a story that I instantly fell in love with. It is set in 1997 and is a whodunnit in interior Karnataka, set against the backdrop of a small town in a hill station. We have just finished scouting for the locations and are in the process of finalising our cast. We are looking at commencing the shoot by the end of April or May," reveals Janardhan.

The filmmaker is all praise for his technical crew, which includes Charan Raj for music direction, Advaitha Gurumurthy as the cameraman and

Ullas Hydur

as art director. "All technicians work with Hemanth. I have always sought the support of Hemanth, who has heard all my scripts and been a guide. When I narrated this story to him, seeking his opinion, midway through the narrative he asked if he could back it and I was thrilled," shares Janardhan.