Mumbai:  A biopic about Padma Shri awardee, Vijay Sankeshwar, the owner of the commercial vehicles fleet VRL Group of companies, is set to be released.

The film  ‘Vijayanand’, directed by Rishika Sharma, stars Nihal R, Bharath Bopanna, Anant Nag, Ravi Chandran, Prakash Belawadi, Siri Prahalad, Vinaya Prasad, Archana Kottige and Anish Kuruvilla, among others.

Sharma previously directed the film Trunk,' which starred Nihal. The film, which was made on a shoestring budget, performed exceptionally well at the box office, making it one of the most beneficial films of 2018.

‘Vijayanand’ will also be VRL Film Productions' debut production venture, and the Kannada film will have a pan-India release with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.

Sharma said, “Nihal came up with the idea of making a film on Vijay sir’s life and once we started doing our research, we understood it is a huge responsibility to bring out his story for the world. His journey is truly inspiring and we are truly grateful that Anand sir (Anand Sankeshwar) understood our vision and not only gave permission but also is backing the film as a producer.”

Vijay Sankeshwar began his entrepreneurial journey in Hubli, Karnataka, and now owns the VRL Group of companies. He co-founded the company with his son, Anand Sankeshwar. He is also the owner of the Kannada newspaper Vijaya Vani and the Dighvijaya 24x7 news channel.

The government of India awarded Vijay Sankeshwar the Padma Shri in 2020.

Music composer Gopi Sundar, has composed music for Vijayanand. Keertan Poojary did the cinematography and Hemanth did the editing. Sharma created the artwork and costumes herself.