Daredevil Musthafa on OTT: Shashank Sohgal’s debut feature zeroes in on digital partner pre-release?

The film, presented by Daali Dhananjaya, will be in theatres on May 19

Poster of Shashank Soghal's Daredevil Musthafa

Debutant director Shashank Sohgal’s feature film adaptation of the late Poornachandra Tejaswi’s short story, Daredevil Musthafa, is being brought to theatres this May, with none other than Daali Dhananjaya throwing his might behind the project and presenting it. This association, it would seem, has not only ensured that Karthik Gowda and Yogi G Raj of KRG Studios are distributing the film, which will be in theatres on May 19, but it has also been picked up by a major streaming platform for its post-theatrical digital rights. According to sources, Amazon Prime Video has bought Daredevil Musthafa under the on or before 30-day scheme. An official announcement is yet to be made about the same.

Shashank, apparently first came across the Daredevil Musthafa short story in an audio format, and was so impressed by it that he decided to work it into a feature-length screenplay. However, owing to the unique period setting of the film, he was unable to find backing, which compelled him to take the crowd-funding route. What began as a pitch on Facebook soon attracted the admirers of Tejaswi and Shashank was able to source all the funds through the model. Eventually, Shashank had a sum total of 60 producers to credit for getting the project rolling.

The film version employs several vibrant characters with Jamal Abdul Musthafa Hussain, the title character, being the most important one. Theatre actor Shishir Baikady plays the part on screen with Aditya Ashree, Abhay, Supreeth Bharadwaj, Aashith, Srivatsa, Prerana and several other young actors as part of the enterprising cast. Reportedly, Daredevil Musthafa was shot extensively in Mysuru's Hardwicke College, where Poornachandra Tejaswi's father and Rashtrakavi Kuvempu studied.

Daredevil Musthafa is the first Kannada film to announce a release date immediately after the Karnataka elections. The first two weeks of May do not have any major Sandalwood releases. The film will likely be joined by others soon, but at the moment, it doesn’t look like a very crowded week.

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