A series of firsts for Sharan

An Ugadi release is a first for Kannada actor Sharan and he is mighty excited. 'Jai Maruthi 800 is my first release for 2016 and I consider it an auspicious beginning. Apart from being my first release for the year, this is also my maiden collaboration with director-choreographer A Harsha, for whom a full-fledged comedy is a first,' says Sharan. The film sees the actor paired with two heroines ' Sruthi Hariharan and Shubha Punja ' and is set in two distinct time periods.'The film begins with an incident that occurs in the 16th century, which reaches its logical conclusion in present day. The period element of the film is very minimal, but the locations we shot at are predominantly classic heritage buildings,' says the actor. Some of the buildings, says Harsha, are over 800 years old, and getting permission to shoot there was one of the reasons the film took nearly a year to complete. 'We were hoping to finish up in 5-6 months, but to shoot at some of these fort houses required multiple clearances, which was time-consuming,' says the director, adding that the structures lend a special charm to the film. Scripted by Harsha, who is known for his action dramas, Jai Maruthi 800 will be a departure from that and have nearly 75% comedy with a sprinkling of romance, drama and action. 'The film will see Sharan and Arun Sagar together for the first time ' a combination to look out for. The villains in the tale, Loki and Madhu Guruswamy are also a highlight, especially the latter, who mixes evil with humour,' says Harsha. The music by AP Arjun is another USP, says Sharan. 'Every time Arjun works on the music for my films, the songs have become hits, and it is no different this time. In fact, two of the four songs have been doing really well on music charts, namely Ding Ding Dong and my favourite, Mandara Mandara,' says the actor. And last but not the least, audiences can look forward to seeing Sharan sport six-pack-abs in this film. 'In an action film, it would not seem amiss to have a hero with six-pack abs, but in a comedy, it has to go in sync with the script, else it will look forced. I believe we have managed to avoid that and seeing Sharan in that avatar will be a treat for his fans,' says Harsha.