Sreeni on ‘Ghost’: It has nothing to with the paranormal

Dr Shivarajkumar and Malayalam actor Jayaram come together for MG Sreenivas’ film

MG Srinivas’ latest film, Ghost, features Dr Shivarajkumar and Malayalam actor Jayaram in lead roles. “ Ghost has nothing to do with the paranormal,” says the writer-director. “It is an action-packed thriller”. Despite having a production house, MG Cinemas, Ghost is produced by Sandesh Nagaraj’s Sandesh Productions.

During the lockdown, Sreeni as the director is better known, wrote many stories and screenplays and had several discussions with friends. “That was also when I stumbled upon a real-life incident, which intrigued me. I decided to take that as a premise and build a story around that incident. And, Ghost was born.”

Once the lockdown was lifted, Sreeni was busy with the release of his film, Old Monk. “I was looking at starting another project, which took a backseat when Sandesh approached me asking if I had any story for Shivanna (Shivarajkumar). I mentioned Ghost. Even though the screenplay was not complete then, I was asked to pitch the story to Shivanna, who loved it and even suggested Jayaram for the other main character. Though both are brand ambassadors for a jewelry brand, they had not acted together.

The film is currently being shot in Minerva Mills and Sreeni hopes to be done with the shooting by January 2023.

During the lockdowns, Sreeni says people were watching content across genres and languages on streaming platforms. ”The challenge now is to create something new vis-à-vis content and visuals. The audience cannot be treated to the same romance or repeated content.”

Both filmmakers and audience look for something new, says Sreeni who started his acting career with the Kannada film  Topiwala (2013), sharing the screen with ‘Real Star’ Upendra. He played the lead in Simply Kailawesome, Srinivasa Kalyana and  Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni.

Ghost will not have a female lead as the story did not demand it, according to Sreeni. The Kannada film, will be dubbed in other Indian languages.