The satisfactory rainfall around the state was the matter of discussion during the recent outdoor shooting of Kannada film 'Jyeshta' in Srirangapattana. Superstar Vishnuvardhan was happy to hear the news about the rise of water level in the reservoirs in Karnataka. That was the topic of discussion in the beginning, when newsmen went to cover the shooting.

"It is easy to blame people that they are not coming to theatres. But where is the money today? The entire rural sector is without jobs. When there is no rain, there are more problems. If Nature is angry, what we can do? We should happy that God has been kind this year", says Vishnuvardhan.

He plays the role of the eldest five brothers in a family. The good-Samaritan family suffers at the hand of a family of goons in the same village. "The film has emotions, comedy and action sequences, all well-packaged. It has a great story, and director Suresh Krishna has worked well on the script", says producer Soorappa Babu.

For Suresh Krishna, this is his second Kannada film. Though his first film 'Kadamba' also featured Vishnuvardhan, it did not do well at the box office despite critical acclaim. But Krishna does not insist that it was a good film. "I don't know why people did not see the film, but I think it did have some flaws."
 
There was a large contingent of stars assembled for the shooting of an important scene. Mumbai-based Ashima Bhalla, a heroine in the film, says she is excited about acting for the first time in a Kannada film. Another charismatic hero, Devaraj, plays the role of a younger brother to Vishnuvardhan. Sourav, Anirudhdh, Anand are the other brothers. Shobha Raj, Shivaram, Ramesh Bhat, Rangayana Raghu, Sharath Lohithashwa play other characters in the film. Sindhu Menon, who has acted as a heroine in many Kannada films, is playing an important role.

Ashima Bhalla, who looks like Shilpa Shetty from some camera angles, says: "Everyone here tells me about the resemblance. I think they are pulling my leg. I think I have my own identity." This is her answer also to Vishnuvardhan, who calls her Shilpa Bhalla. She has done two Tamil films, out of which 'Ramana' (starring Vijayakanth) was a hit. She has played a parallel character in Telugu film 'Daddy' with Chiranjeevi.

Sindhu Menon has another job, too. She has now become a Television serial producer, busy producing a Malayalam serial. The serial, telecast in Surya TV, has just completed one hundred episodes. She is now looking for an opportunity to produce a Kannada serial. Incidentally,

Of 'Jyeshta', for which she has shot for more than ten days, Sindhu says: "I did act with Vishnu Sir as a child artist, but now I am playing one of the important characters of the film. I had always dreamed to work in Director Suresh Krishna's film. I am being paired with Sourav, but I figure in many sequences with Vishnu Sir."