Abhinetri – The Tragedy of a Legend is a 2015 Indian Kannada language film directed by Satish Pradhan. It stars Pooja Gandhi in the lead role. The film is based on the life of actress Kalpana. The supporting cast features Makarand Deshpande, Srinagar Kitty, Atul Kulkarni, P. Ravi Shankar and Neethu. After much delay in the post production, the film opened on screens on 30 January 2015. Synopsis The movie is a loose biopic about Minuguthaare Kalpana, Kannada's yesteryears actress played by Pooja Gandhi. Her rise and fall are both captured. The movie begins with a young girl who wishes to become a film star. When she sets on to follow her dream, she's taken aback by the number of film personalities wanting sexual favours from her to project her talent. Soon, however, she finds fame. This makes her arrogant, and this slowly begins to affect her life. Her popularity which had reached its peak is now slowly falling and it hits rock bottom. Things start going very miserable, and she eventually ends her life. The movie is a tragic tale of a legend. Cast Pooja Gandhi as Sharat Lata / Nanda Makarand Deshpande as Krishna Raju Atul Kulkarni as Shivaiah P. Ravi Shankar as Betageri Gangaraj Ramesh Bhat Sudha Belavadi Ramya Barna Achyuth Kumar Srinagar Kitty Shailaja Joshi Radhika Gandhi in Cameo appearance Jyothi Neethu Vanishree Production Development and casting It was revealed in July 2013 that Pooja Gandhi would produce and essay the lead role in the film, while Makarand Deshpande, who had appeared in a few Kannada films earlier, was confirmed with a part in the film. Srinagar Kitty's cameo role in the film was confirmed in April 2014. Talking about her preparations for the film, Gandhi said she watched Kalpana's films like Eradu Kanasu, Belli Moda, Gejje Pooje, Kappu Bilupu and Sharapanjara, to get her mannerisms and body language right. Filming Filming reportedly began in November 2013. Satish Pradhan, the director of the film, having denied initially that the film is based on the life of actress Kalpana, later revealed the fact, after the court ruling in their favor of a case filed by author Bhagya Krishnamurthy. He said, "We spoke to a lot of yesteryear actors and directors like KSL Swamy, Bhagawan, PH Vishwanath, Leelavathi, Jayanthi and BV Radha to understand the dynamics of the film industry back then, and got their inputs and impressions