Raj B Shetty: Ramya is a ‘heroine’ even in real life, so our film, Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, will present her like that

When Kannada cinema’s Queen Bee, Ramya, announced her return to showbiz with the launch of her production banner Apple Box Studios, and that she would also be back onscreen with a film directed by ‘a Shetty’, rumour mills went wild with speculation about which one of the RRR trio – Rakshit, Rishab or Raj – it would be.

Ramya had been appreciative of Rakshit’s 777 Charlie and the two of them had some social media banter too, so netizens wondered if the latter would collaborate with her for a home production. However, Rakshit is currently busy with Sapta Sagaradaache Ello and Bachelor’s Party and will then start on his directorial, Richard Anthony. Rishab was in the midst of post-production of his film Kantara, which left Raj B Shetty as the third and most likely Shetty that Ramya was referring to. He, however, remained steadfastly tight-lipped about this. In fact, when Team OTTplay met him and Rishab at the recent OTTplay Awards and Conclave in Mumbai and posed the question, Rishab only spoke about his admiration for Ramya as an artiste, while Raj skipped the topic altogether.

Although Ramya had announced her comeback in late August, it was only on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami that it was finally confirmed that her return is, indeed, with a film to be directed by Raj. Called Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, the film is likely to go on floors sometime in October. Recently, when Raj was spotted at an awards function in Bengaluru, he spoke to a television channel briefly, saying, “Ramya will be in a never-before-seen character in the film. In real life, Ramya is quite the heroine, so it is only apt that we present her as is and when she is around, we have to step aside and let her be the focal point. In that sense, Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye is a female-centric film.” Incidentally, Raj’s last directorial, Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana did not have any major female characters, so, it will be interesting to see what he cooks up this time.