Director Prasad Puttur is clear about what his debut film, Manga Maaya, is not. There are no larger-than-life heroes, no glamorous visual packaging, no elaborate makeup, and not even a conventional heroine woven into the narrative. Instead, he is placing his faith in tension, character dynamics, and the unpredictability of human behaviour.
“People kept asking us where the commercial elements were,” says Prasad, adding, “But we never wanted to make a loud film. We wanted audiences to connect with the story, the characters, and the situations they go through.”
At a time when Kannada cinema continues to explore rooted storytelling, it comes across as a tightly contained thriller that turns its limitations into its biggest strength. Produced under the Puttur Brothers Entertainment banner on a modest budget, the film unfolds entirely within a single building over a single day, following seven parallel characters whose lives collide through unexpected events.
“The entire film happens in one building and mostly in one location. That itself became our biggest challenge. We had to keep the audience engaged only through the writing, performances, suspense, and situational comedy.”
Set during the Covid period, the story follows an unemployed young man who begins working at a lodge to survive difficult circumstances. But a missing bag of money, betrayal, and suspicion gradually turn the confined setting into a tense thriller.
“It starts off like a grounded drama, but slowly the tension builds. Every character carries something within them, and when those situations clash, the suspense begins to grow.”
The filmmaker says the realistic treatment was intentional from the beginning. Having previously worked in acting, videography, scripting, and art direction, Puttur approached Manga Maaya without relying on cinematic excess.“There is no heroine, no glamorous presentation, and no makeup-heavy approach,” he explains, adding, “We wanted the film to feel natural. The audience should feel like these are people they may have seen in real life.”
The seven-character setup also gives the thriller a layered narrative, with each storyline running parallel before eventually intersecting. “Every character enters with their own struggle and purpose, and we keep moving between them, which creates both tension and humour.”
Featuring actors including Ranjan Shetty, Radhesh Shenoy Udupi, Prakash Shenoy Mysuru, Prasanna Puttur, Akshath Ameen, Chandan Kumar, and Vijayalakshmi M, Manga Maaya also brings together several artistes and technicians from coastal Karnataka.
Shot over 43 days in Vidyaranyapura and Mysuru, the film had its first audience screenings in the coastal belt last week. Following the response, the makers are now releasing Manga Maaya in Bengaluru and Mysuru from May 15.
“We made this film with honesty. If audiences enter the world of Manga Maaya, the suspense and the characters will take care of the rest.”
