Kapata Nataka Sutradhari is not a Hindu-Muslim conflict story
Yes, the protagonist is a Muslim, and yes, he gets stuck under a statue in a Hindu temple, but the narrative is about how society reacts to this situation, explains director-actor Dhiraj MV
Last Updated: 10.26 PM, Jun 24, 2025
The question that arose at the end of the trailer of the upcoming Kannada political satire Kapata Nataka Sutradhari was if a statue would be saved, or the man who was stuck under it. The man at the centre of this dilemma being a Muslim, who’d joined devotees at an age-old Hindu temple in carrying out a ritual meant to fulfil his wish – crawling under a stone statue of an elephant. Only problem was that he was too big for the space under the elephant and got stuck there.
Kapata Nataka Sutradhari is about how society complicates the issue at hand
A Hindu-Muslim conflict is a heavy subject to address in a film and one that could polarize audiences. Director-actor Dhiraj MV, though, explains that Kapata Nataka Sutradhari is not about a Hindu-Muslim conflict. “Yes, my character is a Muslim guy and yes, he gets stuck under a statue in a historical Hindu temple, but what happens next is how society reacts to this predicament. From the police officials, to the temple authorities, politicians, media and social media influencers, each of them, rather than simplifying and solving the issue, does something for their own selfish needs,” he explains.
Dhiraj admits that the subject, at its core, is heavy, but the treatment is not. “It is a light, humorous story and is not about any particular religion, which is not the impression one gets from the trailer. But once people see the film, I guarantee that they will walk out with a smile. The agenda is not to hurt anyone’s sentiment or be one-sided,” he adds.
Also read: Kapata Nataka Sutradhari meant only for audiences with the intellect to form an opinion of their own
At a time when propaganda films that lean heavily towards one particular agenda are highly favoured, Dhiraj and his team are looking at proving that a movie that balances all the viewpoints may also win. He adds that the situation in the temple is only one element of the narrative and that there’s a lot more than meets the eye. The film, which was meant to be in theatres on June 19 and was postponed, will now release on July 4, 2025.