Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye should be an OTT release; decision is up to the producer: Raj B Shetty

Raj B Shetty’s third directorial, after Ondu Motteya Kathe and Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, saw him collaborating with actress Ramya, who has turned producer now. Called Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, the film was initially meant to mark Ramya’s return to acting, but she later excused herself, as she felt that the role was more apt for a fresh face. Raj then roped in Siri Ravikumar and shot the film in only 17 days, in October last year. But since then, there’s been no news about the project, so when Raj made a rare public appearance recently at the launch of Vinay Rajkumar’s Graamaayana, the media was quick to pounce on him for answers.

Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, says Raj, is nearly complete; the editing and music is all done and only some minor work on the sound is pending. This, he says, should be a week’s work, at the most. As the writer, director and actor, Raj said that his suggestion from the creative team was that it should be a direct-to-OTT release, but that the final decision of what to do with it rests with the production house. On this note, it would be interesting to note that not long ago, during a media house conclave, Ramya had addressed the issue of major streaming platforms showing no interest in buying Kannada films. And it would seem that she has been unable to sell her debut production to any mainstream platform yet.

As for the film itself, Raj says that unlike his earlier Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, which had no major female characters, Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye is based on his impressions of women, especially his mother, who are often very busy with household chores. The subject, he adds, is something he had not attempted before and, hence, was reason enough to explore.