The Arjuna elephant, which carried the golden howdah and Goddess Chamundeshwari for eight years at the internationally famed Mysuru Dasara festival, is remembered in the film Mavutha, which pays tribute to it.
As the Arjuna elephant passed away last year, an elephant from Sakrebailu, Sagara, carries the work of this film Mavutha, which has very interesting content.
After producing and acting in the film Bari Ten Percent Baddi, Lakshmipathi Balaji has now produced and played the lead in his second film, Mavutha.
Shankar B., DCP (Delhi), BJP leader Kavita Singh, retired police officer Nanjundaswamy, social worker Bajrangi Umesh, and others attended as chief guests at the trailer release event. Two songs from the film were screened at the packed auditorium.
Mavutha is a forest-based story. It also narrates the tale of the mahout and an elephant, which uncovers certain illegal activities taking place in the forest and strives to protect it. Lakshmipathi Balaji has both produced the film and acted as the hero. An elephant named Sagar has also played a major role in the film. With the cooperation of the entire team, the film has turned out well. The trailer has been released today, and the film will hit theatres soon, said director Ravishankar Naag.
“Earlier, I had produced and acted as the lead in Bari Ten Percent Baddi, and Mavutha is my second film. This is a film with a forest-based storyline, and most of the shooting has taken place in the forest itself. The bond between the mavutha and the elephant is the highlight of this film. The elephant Sagar has performed brilliantly. After a long time, a Kannada film featuring an elephant in a full-fledged role is coming out. While making this film, we were inspired many times by Arjuna, who had carried the ambari (howdah) and is no longer with us. Our film is dedicated to Arjuna. We have already received permission from the Animal Board. The film will be released soon. We are confident that all of you will like the film,” said hero and producer Lakshmipathi Balaji.
When asked about the maintenance of the elephant Sagar, Lakshmipathi Balaji said it is a tough task. Over a lakh was spent on the elephant, and he had to learn the language the elephant is comfortable with. He stayed with forest officials who maintain elephants for four days and then got accustomed to the elephant Sagar. He mentioned that Bengali is the language the elephant copes with.
“The film has five action sequences, each better than the other. Along with choreographing the stunts, I have also acted in a key role,” said Thriller Manju. “I liked the story, and there is a feeling of freshness. I remembered Gandhada Gudi of Dr. Rajkumar while working on this film. The team allocated good time for action, and as a range officer in the film, I traveled to various locations that look good on screen,” stated the noted actor, director, stunt director, and producer.
Mahalakshmi, a talented and good-looking heroine, recounted her bio-data at the media meet and said she immensely liked the film. A Hindustani singer by profession, Mahalakshmi’s romantic song with Lakshmipathi Balaji has been very well captured on screen.
Divyashree, actors Layakokila and Kailash Kuttappa, background music composer Ravivarma, and Siri Music’s Chikkanna, among others, also spoke about the film.
