Anyone who knows coastal Karnataka knows the private bus culture: rash driving, tight competition, loud horns, and conductors hanging off footboards. But Mithya director Sumanth Bhat’s Shankarabharanna takes that chaotic everyday reality and drives it straight into the dark.
The idea, born out of Shine Shetty’s own travels and local folklore from the Karavali and Malnad belts, sets up something far trickier than a regular horror flick: being trapped inside a moving tin can with nowhere to run.
The newly released trailer shows Shine behind the wheel as a struggling driver swimming in debt, dealing with finicky village commuters, and trying to keep his ageing bus alive. The chatter feels instantly recognisable, until the sun goes down. A detour through an empty forest stretch and a crossing over a cursed, mist-covered bridge flips the mood on its head. Suddenly, uninvited spirits hitch a ride, and a regular village trip spirals into complete bedlam with the passengers screaming for the brakes.
What makes this curious is the odd mix of talent steering it. Sumanth Bhat, fresh off the National awards for Mithya and the realism of Ekam, is diving headfirst into an outright commercial spooky comedy. Shine, who co-wrote the script with Trilok Trivikrama, also makes this the launchpad for his banner, Ranggasthala Studios, alongside Divakar Shetty and Shreeshaila.
Malayalam actor Tanvi Ram joins the ride, while Sampath Kumar turns up as the troublemaker, with Krithi Shetty, Deepak Rai Panaje, and Mime Ramdas in supporting roles. With Charan Raj handling the music and DOP Udit Khurana capturing the foggy backroads, the film looks ready to turn the region’s beloved roadside staple into a wild, screeching nightmare.
The bus rolls into theatres on November 20.