Kapata Nataka Sutradhari Movie Review: A sharp political satire that hits home

When satire is done right, it doesn’t just make you laugh, it makes you think. Kapata Nataka Sutradhari, directed by Dhiraj MV, begins as a rural comedy but soon unfolds into a bold political satire. Tackling religious divides, caste bias, media hypocrisy, and performative politics, this film becomes a mirror to society.

The film opens with a devotional hymn to Lord Eshwar, setting a spiritual tone. From there, we are taken to a higher primary school, where Manoj (Murali Shankar), a timid teacher in his mid-30s, struggles to maintain control. “My name is ordinary, and so is my life,” he says—a line that lingers.

Manoj takes leave from school and travels to Raibag, a historic town, to visit a thousand-year-old temple that opens to devotees only two days a year, and also to meet a prospective bride. He is joined by his colleagues, and as they arrive in Raibag, he meets Shivu (Shivakumar), a software engineer earning ₹20 lakh a year who also works as a temple priest. Also present is Abhirama (Abhirama Arjuna), a man preparing for the panchayat elections, known for his shallow charity and loud moral posturing.

Director: Dhiraj MV

Cast: Dhiraj MV, Abhirama Arjuna, Murali Shankar, Greeshma Sridharand Sri Sagar

What starts as a casual visit turns into a full-blown social crisis. Manoj steps away from the temple to meet the prospective bride, while a school teacher who accompanied him attempts a ritual inside the temple and enters under a sacred elephant idol. His large body gets stuck. The situation escalates when it is revealed that his real name is Mohammed Ismail (Dhiraj MV).

Abhirama, who had earlier demanded the removal of the idol for dharmic reasons, hesitates because the man inside is from a minority community. The issue is no longer about tradition; it has become about identity. What follows is chaos.
The media arrives. Some portray it as a deliberate insult to faith, while others try to uncover the truth. When Ismail asks for water, they refuse, afraid he might urinate, yet they urge him to cry for better TRPs. “Is this for your channel or my life?” Ismail asks. It is a question that cuts deep.

A YouTuber enters the scene, attempting to hijack the moment. The film reflects how the “fourth pillar of democracy,” the media, has become a circus of deception and ego. Meanwhile, politicians and police scramble to produce the safest PR outcome.

Kapata Nataka Sutradhari puts up a pressing question: what matters more—faith or life? One side argues for preserving a symbol, the other for saving a man. There are cleverly written songs, and music by Prasanna Kumar MS, among them the track 'Kapata Nataka,’ which plays during the film’s turning point, underlining the absurdity of it all.

Shot entirely in North Karnataka, the film feels grounded and authentic. Dhiraj MV keeps the narrative focused and avoids melodrama. Most of the cast are newcomers, but they deliver sincere performances.

The woman Manoj had come to meet as a prospective bride, Pavithra (Greeshma Sridhar), is seen in some of the film’s most thought-provoking moments. Here, a man’s body becomes a metaphor for religious exclusion, and while children are seen as divine, adults are stripped of compassion. The ending offers no easy answers, only difficult questions.

Kapata Nataka Sutradhari avoids clichés, with no fight sequences, no glamour, and no romantic diversions. What it delivers instead is truth, wit, and urgency. It offers a fearless look into how society functions, often with contradiction and prejudice.
This political satire makes it a must-watch for those who believe that cinema can be a catalyst for social reflection.