Rishab Shetty Produced Shivamma Teaser Out, To Make Debut In MAMI

The teaser of Shivamma has been officially released. The film is directed by debutant Jaishankar Aryar. The teaser has been well-received in international film festivals around the world. Last year, it won the New Currents Award at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Shivamma shared the award with the Korean film A Wild Roomer.

Shivamma is backed by Rishab Shetty’s home banner Rishab Shetty Films. The Kantara director released the teaser on social media on Tuesday. Sharing the teaser on X, Rishab Shetty wrote, “Here is the teaser of the most acclaimed Kannada film in the international festivals.”

Shivamma is based on the chronicles of a poor middle-aged woman who is a government school chef but shifts to work as a sales representative for an energy drink company to save enough for her daughter’s marriage and to take care of her husband with a disability. It stars Sharanamma Chetti and Chennamma Abbegere in the lead roles. The movie was entirely shot in Yarehanchinala village in the Kuknur taluk of the Koppal district and all the actors are local debutants from the same town.

Last year, in a conversation with The Hindu, director Jaishankar said that he was inspired by a salesperson who came by Rakshit Shetty’s office and two boys on a train practising their speaking skills after attending a multi-level marketing event. “The man who came to Rakshit’s office was explaining the features of his product with great enthusiasm but nobody there wanted it. As he was repacking his wares with a dejected look, I felt a surge of empathy for him. That emotion developed into Shivamma’s story,” explained Jaishankar.

Shivamma is also the first Kannada film to win an award at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. The film is now making its debut in South Asia at the renowned MAMI (Mumbai Film Festival) on Wednesday.