The long-delayed crime thriller, Relax Satya, starring Prabhu Mundkur and Manvitha Kamath, will finally hit theatres this week. The crime drama has been delayed by three years, but director Naveen Reddy says the genre will never be outdated. “I would be worried if the film's subject was something like demonetisation. But a crime-based story doesn’t have an expiry date. The topic can engage the audience at any given time,” says the director, who made his debut with Akira.

For his second outing, Naveen has also taken the responsibility of producing the film, which is said to be another reason for the delay. “I realised that it is better to produce the film on my own rather than trying to convince big producers. That’s the reason I am bankrolling the project under my production banner Red Dragon. Handling the two-fold pressures was a learning experience,” he says.

According to Naveen Reddy, Relax Satya will be an out-of-the-box crime thriller since the story is mixed with humour. “While the crime genre is usually dark, I felt that a comical touch would make it very entertaining.”

The film’s hero, Prabhu Mundkur, was finalised as early as during the shooting of the director’s first film, Akira. Naveen considers Manvitha Kamath, the female lead of the film, as a 'lucky charm'. “She has been part of successful films like Kendasampige and Tagaru, to name a few. I hope this film is an addition to her list of hits,” he says.

Relax Satya has Srikanth as the editor, while the music has been composed by Anan Raja Vikram. Yogi, who worked with Naveen in Akira, has handled the cinematography.