Udupi, (The Hindu): Actor and director of Kannada film ‘Ondu Motteya Kathe’ Raj B. Shetty, which was shot in Mangaluru and has got a positive response from the audience, said on Monday that the intention of the film was to show how society reacted to imperfect persons and vice-versa.

The story of the film revolves around a person, Janardhana (played by Mr. Shetty), who is bald and his and his family’s attempts to get him married.

Participating in an interaction programme at the Press Club here, Mr. Shetty said that he had actually wanted to do a short story, but decided to make a feature film on it.

The film was shot at a cost of about ?1 crore. Though it was released in 20 single screen theatres and multiplexes in the first week, the word of mouth publicity saw the screens being doubled in the second week. The earnings for the film have crossed ?1 crore. However, the exact calculation would take some time as the Goods and Services Tax would have to be taken into account.

However, the kind of film “Ondu Motteya Kathe” was, it would take about four to five years for acceptance. “Ondu Motteya Kathe is not a different film, it is a simple film,” he said.

Asked about using the Kannada spoken in coastal districts in the film, Mr. Shetty said that the Kannada spoken in this region had a soft and a polite touch to it. “The protagonist of the film, Janardhan, is a meek and mellow person. His mellowness could not have come as effectively if he had spoken in the Kannada used in Bengaluru,” he said.

But the apprehension if coastal Kannada would be accepted by the wider audience in the State had been answered as it was getting a good response in Mandya, Bengaluru, Hassan, and Hubballi.

The film had been released in Mumbai and will soon be released in Chennai and Hyderabad and in the overseas market, he said.

Asked if there would be a sequel to the film, he said, “I just want to run away from the character of Janardhana. I have no idea of a sequel. We do films to explore various aspects of life,” he said.

On his future plans, he said that he would carry on with the same technical crew if he planned another film. He would prefer to work with the same actors or with new actors.

“I may direct a film in Tulu language,” Mr. Shetty said.