Love Mocktail 3 feels special because you rarely see a franchise reach a third film, shares Milana Nagaraj

The third in stalment of the popular Kannada franchise Love Mocktail is set to hit thea tres on March 19. Direct ed and produced by Dar ling Krishna under the banner KrissMi Films, the film once again brings back Milana Nagaraj in a story that has steadily built a loyal fan fol lowing over the years. For Milana, who has been closely associated with the fran chise both on screen and behind the scenes, the journey to a third film was anything but planned. “We have always believed in being honest with the stories we tell. Even before we thought of writing Love Mocktail, we were open to making a film — not necessari ly three parts,” she says. Over time, the franchise has built a strong emotional con nection with viewers, some thing Milana says the team is deeply aware of. “If you look at Love Mocktail 1 and 2, they are actually very differ ent films in terms of genre. With Love Mocktail 3, we have again tried to make a very different film from what we have done before,” she says. Interestingly, Milana says the franchise has evolved alongside her personal life with Krishna. “It feels like everything happened along side the journey of Love Mocktail — our wedding, our daughter Pari, and our growth as individuals,” she says. Milana believes Love Mocktail 3 will serve as a natural conclusion to the story. “We are happy with how the film has shaped up, and it feels like we are round ing off the whole series,” she says. The film also stars Samvrutha, Amrutha Iyen gar and Rachel David among others.