Mumbai, Apr 11 (IANS): Actor Murli Sharma who has made his mark in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam films, is all set to debut in the Kannada film industry with 'Kabzaa'.

Director J Chandru has revealed that Murli Sharma is playing a character named 'Veer Bahaddur' in the pan-India movie.

Chandru said, "Murali is extremely popular with Telugu and Hindi audiences. His role in 'Ala Vaikunthapurramulo' won him a lot of fanfare. This is one reason we decided to approach him to play a pivotal role in our film. He plays a character named Veera Bahaddur, who hails from the royal Bahaddur family."

Murli has featured in more than 200 films and has been appreciated for his impeccable work. He is majorly known for playing a cop on screen.

"I was a little nervous in the beginning as I don't really speak Kannada and this was a very beautiful experience and all the credit goes to my director J. Chandru. He just took me through. It's a very beautiful and very performance-oriented character and I have done some very, very beautiful scenes which I think have come out very well, my director is happy so I am happy," Murli said.

The filmmaker adds, that he recently wrapped up a mammoth schedule for the film. "With this, we have completed nearly 85 per cent of the film. There is another big schedule left, which includes around 20 days of shoot, and some new actors will join us then. We are looking at releasing the film this year itself and work for the same is underway."

'Kabzaa', a period drama has been making a buzz since its announcement. The film's cast includes celebrated actors Upendra, Kichcha Sudeepa and Shriya Saran.