PremiumFirefly producer Niveditha Shivarajkumar: Audiences coming to theatres depends on how well we get our product across to them
Niveditha Shivarajkumar is counting down to the release of her maiden feature film production, Firefly, featuring a newbie director and actor and is acutely aware of how important promotions are
Last Updated: 01.37 PM, Apr 12, 2025
On April 24, 2025, Niveditha Shivarajkumar, the granddaughter of matinee idol Dr Rajkumar and daughter of Century Star Shivarajkumar, will officially be the newest member of the women producers in the family, led by her late grandmother Parvathamma Rajkumar and followed by her mother Geetha Shivarajkumar and aunt Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar. Niveditha, who has been dabbling with production for a while, albeit with web series, has backed the directorial debut of actor Vamshi Krishna, called Firefly.
The film’s current release plan, though, is at a time, when the Kannada industry is going through a massive slump, much like the past few years. In fact, in 2024, the first box office break came only in August when Bheema released, which was followed by Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi and Bhairathi Ranagal, Max, etc. The first 3 months of 2025 have been abysmal and there’s been so sign of a revival yet. What does Niveditha make of this situation? Niveditha says that she understands why audiences seem to prefer an OTT watch these days, because of the easy access.
Niveditha Shivarajkumar: Promotions matter most
And yet, she firmly believes that getting people back to theatres is about giving them good content. However, she adds that it is as important, if not more, to ensure that the target audience is aware of the good content that is coming their way. “Audiences coming to theatres depsnds on how well we get our product across to them; that's of utmost importance,” she says, which is why the normally media-shy Niveditha has taken charge of the film’s promotions and even enlisted Shivarajkumar to chip in. His brand value aiding the promotions apart, Shivarajkumar also has a pivotal cameo in the film.
With the promotional content, be it the teaser, trailer or songs, Niveditha’s aim has been to tell audiences about the film and create enough intrigue and interest for them to want to come to the theatres on April 24, which, is the late Dr Rajkumar’s birth anniversary. Meanwhile, working with newcomers is nothing new for Niveditha, whose primary objective with her banner Shri Mutthu Cine Services is to be able to provide a platform for new talent.
But at the time that Vamshi approached her with the idea of Firefly, she was not prepared to venture into feature filmmaking just yet. In fact, the duo had been discussing ideas for a couple of web series, but that did not pan out and Vamshi had told her the story of Firefly in the hope that she would refer him to a producer to back the project.
Niveditha, though, was impressed by the story and the absolute clarity that Vamshi had about how the film would look and feel, and while she was sold almost instantly, she did want to run it by her father once, and when he also approved it, there was no looking back and the film went on floors. Initially mean to be in theatres for Deepavali 2024, Firefly had to be pushed ahead because of the uncertainty about the release plans of films like Martin, UI, Max and her father’s Bhairathi Ranagal.