The film, titled Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, features two males leads -- Rishab Shetty as well as the actor-director; it will have no female lead, except for a character who plays the mother’s role
Raj B Shetty is coming up with his next directorial after Ondu Motteya Kathe, which will be a gangster drama. The actor-director has completed the shoot for the film, which had a working title, Hari Hara, and the makers have come up with a unique and lengthy title -- Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. According to Raj B Shetty, who also plays the lead role along with Rishab Shetty, his latest is a gangster romance, which will not feature any heroine, except a female character who plays the mother’s role. “Hari Hara is a name that came in my mind when I was scripting the film. I later thought that it would not reflect the strength of the character and after much thought, I decided to go ahead with Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana,” explains Raj B Shetty, who has extracted and reworked on a sequence from Sri Devi Mahatme, a Yakshagana play that narrates an ego clash.
“The story suits the contemporary period, which is portrayed through the characters of Shiva, which is played by me, and Hari, essayed by Rishab Shetty. Both are equally powerful, and while one controls things, the other wants to destruct, which we have tried to represent with blue and red colours,” he says. “The entire film is set in Mangaluru, and has been made in a different style because of the dialect and set-up,” reveals Raj B Shetty, adding, “Power dynamics and relationship conflicts do not happen only in the underworld. It also happens between the writer and director in the film industry, or when the henchman and the controller come together, and they present a winning combination, which is what I have tried to explore with this film,” he adds.
Talking about why he chose this genre after the romantic comedy, Ondu Motteya Kathe, he says, “Cinema writing and direction is all about self-exploration, and I wanted to follow that process. After Ondu Motteya Kathe, I did start writing a comedy. However, I realised that I should write something that I have not done before, and this idea came strong.” The film also has him shouldering the responsibility of a producer, along with his friends, Ravi Rai Kalasa and Vachan Shetty. Made under the banner of Lighter Buddha Films, it has Praveen Shriyan taking care of the editing and cinematography, while Midhun Mukundan is composing the music. The film is now in the post-production stage, and the team is looking forward to releasing it in June 2020.