Two Kannada choreographers turn film directors

Bangalore, March 15 (IANS) In keeping with the trend in Telugu cinema, a couple of known Kannada choreographers are turning to film direction.

Popular dance director Harsha is directing "Geleya" with Prajwal Devaraj, son of veteran actor Devaraj, in the lead role.

Harsha has choreographed many dance sequences for top stars Puneet Raj Kumar, Upendra, Sudeep and Darshan. He has also composed songs for the blockbuster "Mungaru Male".

Choreographer 'Five-Star' Ganesh is also turning to film direction. He has discussed several scripts with leading heroes like Upendra and Darshan. Ganesh says he hopes to be "backed by a good producer".

He choreographed the hugely popular song "Jai Ganesha" in the super-hit film "Kutumba".

Telugu cinema has so far reaped good box-office results from films directed by dance directors.

Acclaimed choreographers like Prabhu Deva, Raghava Lawrence and Amma Rajashekhar have succeeded in their debut films and stayed busy behind the camera ever since.

Prabhu Deva and Lawrence have moved to Tamil cinema to make "Pokkiri" and "Muni". Prabhu Deva will debut as a director in Bollywood with the remake of Telugu hit "Pokiri", which will have Salman Khan as the hero.