While Raj B Shetty’s directorials have not stuck to a single genre, they do have one thing in common. All three of his films, Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017), Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021), and his most recent Swathi Muththina Male Haniye (SMMH), focus on emotions that are specific to humans and explore them in unconventional, yet real ways. He explores the relationship between companionship and self-image in Ondu Motteya Kathe, pride and love in GGVV, and humanity’s relationship with grief in SMMH.
“I like to think and process why I lost someone,” says Raj Shetty when asked what was his process of grieving after a loss, “What did I do wrong? When I see it that way, I get opportunities to learn and grow from it. I see grief as a huge opportunity to learn. Hence, I don’t like to lose it quickly. I like to spend time with grief. I don’t like to escape from it by playing a video game or a game of cricket. I want to stay with the feeling and see what is happening. I feel like I’ll lose out on a lot of teachings if I just distract myself.”
SMMH is a story about Prerana, played by Siri Ravikumar, who is a counsellor at a hospice care centre in Ooty. She helps terminally ill patients deal with their eventual death and has hence become numb due to her morbid job. Her view on life and grief changes when Aniketh, another patient, comes into her life.
“An old acquaintance of mine called me up once,” he says, speaking of his inspiration for the film, “We don’t have a deep relationship or anything. She has been married for over fifteen years and has two kids. She called me up and started crying. After the call, I wondered why she would choose to talk about her feelings to a stranger instead of her husband of fifteen years. This feeling of loneliness haunted me and I have seen such a feeling in every woman I have met. I have never spoken to her after that call but her situation never left me. That person became Prerana.”