For Rakshit Kumar, storytelling runs in his blood. His grandfather was a Yakshagana artist, and Rakshit grew up listening to his stories. “Those stories sparked something in me, and I always wanted to tell stories. But as a writer, I feared my reach would be limited. Filmmaking felt like a way to connect with more people, and that thought lead me to take the director’s path,” says the debutant ahead of his film Jungle Mangal's release on June 4.
Though Jungle Mangal marks his directorial debut, Rakshit spent over a decade learning the craft. Originally from Puttur and with a Tulu-speaking background, he worked as an assistant and associate on several Kannada films before finding his own voice. He credits the late novelist and writer Poornachandra Tejaswi as a major influence: “His descriptions of nature and his unique narrative style stayed with me. I wanted to bring that depth and rootedness into my film.”
Set in a village where Malnad meets Karavali, Jungle Mangal begins as a light-hearted comedy and gradually shifts into a thriller. “It’s about a boy and a girl who are caught by onlookers in a private moment in the forest. This happens often in real life, but cinema rarely talks about it. I wanted to explore that discomfort, judgment, and curiosity.”
The lead is played by Yash Shetty, widely known for antagonist roles. But here, he takes on a softer, more nuanced character. “Yash and I have been friends and roommates for ten years. I’ve seen his range, and I was tired of seeing him stuck in the same kind of role. This film shows him in a different light,” Rakshit says.
Harshitha Ramachandra plays the female lead, and the film also stars Ugramm Manju, Deepak Rai Panaje, Bala Rajawadi, and Chandrahas Ullal. Some villagers from the Kukke Subramanya region, where the film was shot, also appear in supporting roles.
The film’s cinematography is handled by Vishnu Prasad, with music by Prasad K Shetty and Poornachandra Tejaswi. “It’s a mix of real incidents and cinematic liberty. But at its heart, it’s a story born from the land and people I grew up with,” he signs off.