Kannappa First Look: Vishnu Manchu Takes On The Role Of Shiva Devotee In This Mythological Drama

Telugu actor Vishnu Manchu has unveiled the first poster from his upcoming film Kannappa, directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh. The intriguing poster shows a warrior aiming his arrow upwards against the backdrop of a landscape which appears as Shiva Lingam. Several arrows can be seen flying towards his direction. Vishnu wrote in the caption, “Step into the world of Kannappa where the journey of an atheist Warrior to becoming Lord Shiva’s ultimate devotee comes to life”.

Vishnu’s fans and other social media users have applauded the poster.

Prabhas, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Madhoo, Mohan Babu, and Josita Anola Rodrigues have also acted in Kannappa. The film will be released at the cinemas in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, and Tamil. AVA Entertainment and Twenty Four Frames Factory have bankrolled this film.

This movie revisits the folk tale of Kannappa, an atheist hunter who became a devotee of the Hindu god Shiva. As per popular belief, Kannappa also plucked out his eyes in an act of extreme devotion. The story was previously filmed in the Kannada and Telugu movies as well. It was directed by Bedara Kannappa and Kalahasti Mahatyam in 1954, both starring Rajkumar. It was directed in Hindi as Shiv Bhakta (1955), starring Shahu Modak. This story was directed in Telugu again as Bhakta Kannappa (1976), starring Krishnam Raju. It was depicted on the celluloid in Kannada again as Shiva Mecchida Kannappa (1988), starring Rajkumar, Shiva Rajkumar, and Puneeth Rajkumar.

Manish Sarma and Stephen Devassay have composed the music for Kannappa. It is complemented by the cinematography of Sheldon Shau and art director Chinna.

Earlier, Nupur Sanon was also been roped in for playing the female lead in this movie. She, however, backed out of the project. Vishnu confirmed this via a Twitter post. He tweeted, “Sad to announce that lovely @NupurSanon had to step down from #Kannappa due to scheduling conflicts. We’ll miss her, but the hunt for our new leading lady begins! Sending Nupur our best wishes on her other commitments. Hope to work with her in the near future. Exciting times ahead. Stay tuned for updates! #Kannappa”.

Kannappa is in production and expected to release in 2024.