In his directorial debut, Maya Kannadi, Vinod Poojary has taken up the subject of the infamous online game, Blue Whale challenge, which went viral in 2017. The story is set against the backdrop of a college campus. “This is just one section of the story, as there is more to this investigative murder mystery,” says Vinod, who released the film’s poster recently.

The first-time director, who is also the writer of the film, is from Mangaluru, but shuttled between Dubai--where he is currently based--and India for this project. The film, starring Prabhu Mundkur in the lead, has KS Sridhar playing a pivotal role, along with Karthik Rao, Ashwin Rao, Kaajal Kunder and Anvita Sagar. “All these games--Blue Whale, Momo--come with different names, but the cyber threat exists in many forms and its relevance cannot be debated. We should not let technology take over our lives,” says Vinay.

The makers are now waiting for certification from the censor board to announce the release date. Produced by Sapana Patil in association with King of Hearts, Maya Kannadi was shot in and around Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru. It has music by Abhishek SN and cinematography by Mani Kookal Nair.