Viewers should get ready to go on a laughter ride with Mane Maratakide, says director Manju Swaraj, who has managed to bring together top comedians of the Kannada film industry— Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna, Kuri Prathap, and Ravi Shankar Gowda. Sruthi Hariharan, who was last seen in Nathicharami, is back on the silver screen after a hiatus. She plays the female lead while Karunya Ram plays a pivotal role in the film that is set to hit theatres on November 15. According to the director, Mane Maratakide, produced by S V Babu, is a horror-comedy, and he had to tackle the hectic task of blocking the dates of all the comedians. “Today, comedians are the busiest actors in the industry. They are busy round the clock. Each of them takes up at least 50 films a year, and they give dates for five films per month. It took me six months to bring all the four together on one platform,” he adds.
The producer’s wish to come up with a comedy film was fulfilled by Manju Swaraj, who has previously helmed films like Shravani Subramanya, starring Srikanta with Shivarajkumar. “Babu and I had previously collaborated for Pataki, starring Ganesh, and it was then that he mentioned his love for comedy flicks. When we worked together, he felt that I can handle comedy better, and that gave rise to Mane Maratakide,” says Manju Swaraj. The film’s plot is about these four characters who belong to different backgrounds -- Chikkana is a bartender, Sadhu Kokila plays a pujari, Kuri Pratap is a salon-owner, and Ravi Shankar Gowda plays a security person at an ATM booth. All of them require money to turn into real estate agents, and try to sell a lucrative property, reveals the director. The film’s music has been composed by Abhimann Roy and camerawork by Suresh Babu.