What happens when human ego is pushed to its absolute edge? Lord Gaaga, Zero Gravity Films' debut production, tackles that question head-on. Directed by YK Sunil Kumar, known for directing Gilki, this psychological romantic thriller explores the razor-thin border between genius and madness, what the makers describe as "the purest form of ego available."
Filmmaker Shoonya leads the cast, best known for helming the Dhananjaya-starrer Head Bush. A gold medalist in filmmaking who entered the industry in 2009, Shoonya learned the craft assisting Rakshit Shetty on projects like Avane Srimannarayana. A longtime associate of Puri Jagannadh, he contributed to films like Double iSmart and the upcoming Vijay Sethupathi-starrer Slum Dog. Interestingly, Shoonya has also landed an on-screen role in Slum Dog alongside Vijay Sethupathi. He also plays a part in Vikram Ravichandran’s Mudhol. Yet, Lord Gaaga marks his leap as a full-fledged hero.

For Shoonya, playing the lead was an artistic necessity. "I always had equal love for acting and directing, just like my inspiration, Shankar Nag," he explains. "As directors, we often surrender to our actors. But with certain stories, the only way to protect the vision is to become the hero yourself, and this is an attempt towards that."
Behind the scenes stands producer-actor Mukhi Raghunathan, who brings 34 years of creative experience collaborating with legends like Girish Karnad, Kamal Haasan, and the late Puneeth Rajkumar. Mukhi heads five design and animation firms today, crediting his grit to early setbacks, including failing his Class 12 exams five times. His guiding rule for the project was simple: "Attention is the currency of great cinema."

Making the film tested that grit. Heavy coastal rains in Gokarna halted shooting for nearly a month before the team wrapped an 80-day schedule on a ₹4.5 crore budget. In the editing room, the team trimmed four and a half hours of raw footage into a tight, two-hour nonlinear cut. To test every beat, Mukhi screened the cut for 3,500 test viewers using AI-assisted feedback. "We cannot cheat the audience," he insists.
With strong supporting turns, including a key role for Disha, Lord Gaaga sidesteps predictable formula.