Meera Jasmine part of Kannada film Mourya

Bangalore, Oct 19 (IANS): The big-budget Kannada film "Mourya" will be Malayali actress and national award winner Meera Jasmine's first venture in that language.

The film, which has Puneet Raj Kumar in the lead, is a re-make of the Puri Jagannath-directed Telugu hit "Amma Naanna Oka Thamil Ammaayi", which had Ravi Theja and Kerala model Asin in the lead roles.

Director S. Narayan, known for churning out commercial hits, said he has made several changes in the script and added a few sequences to suit Puneet's image.

"I am sure the film will heighten Puneet's popularity. In his last three films, Puneet was not tested in such a high range of emotional sequences. Even in the action sequences, his strong point, Puneet has excelled in this film."

Narayan's earlier films "Chandra Chakori" and "Simhadriya Simha" were silver-jubilee hits.

Puneet emphasises that the film will be a team effort. "I have only acted the way Narayan has instructed me. I think he has used me well. Producer Rockline Venkatesh is like a member of our family, and he knows best which subject suits me," said the hero whose very first film "Appu" was a big hit.

Meera said she accepted the film after seeing the original Telugu film. "Though I cannot say that my role in the film is extraordinary, it has some substance," she said.

For Asin who acted in the Telugu film, the film's success brought a flurry of offers, and she became a multilingual actress. The Tamil re-make of the film has already been released to a good response in Tamil Nadu.

The film's audio, with Guru Kiran scoring the music, has already been released and is doing brisk business.

The others in the film, apart from Puneet and Meera Jasmine, are: Devaraj, Roja, Komal and Rekha.