Guru Shankar on ‘Badava Rascal’’s OTT release: ‘A great relief’

The director says the film’s availability on a streaming platform ensures the producer will get his money back and is a chance for fans to catch the film in Kannada

Director Guru Shankar and actor Daali Dhananjaya have been friends for over a decade. They have experienced the ups and downs in the industry together. Their passion to project authentic Kannada flavour on screen led to the making of Badava Rascal.

The film, which was released in theatres in November 2021, will be streaming on Voot Select from January 26, 2022. Badava Rascal, also stars Amrutha Iyengar,Rangayana Raghum Nagabhushan and Tara. Vasuki Vaibhav composed the music while Preetha Jayaraman was the cinematographer. The film is special to both Dhananjaya and Guru Shankar as it is the former’s debut as a producer and the latter’s as a director. Excerpts from an interview with the director:

The story is about a middle-class boy. We wanted to bring to screen the actual happenings in a typical Kannada middle class family. ‘Badava Rascal’ is a common profanity in Kannada. Dhananjaya’s father, who is a teacher, used this term often to reprimand his son. Shivanna (Shivaraj Kumar) shared that while Annavaru (the late Dr Raj Kumar ) hardly ever scolded anyone, on the rare occasions when did, these were the two words that would he would normally use! It is colloquialism used both in affection and anger. Hence, we felt it was apt to use as a title. It also blended well with the storyline.