In the Kannada film industry, prominent banners rarely back off-beat subjects. Mother Promise might be one of the riskiest projects of Daali Pictures, one that actor-producer Dhananjaya can be proud of bankrolling.

The movie opens with a thank-you note to Guy Ritchie. Mother Promise, the directorial debut of actor Poornachandra Mysore, has the characteristics of Ritchie’s classic Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as the plot unfolds against a backdrop of crime, bizarre characters, quirky humour and overlapping stories.

“When I read the story, Poorna had not yet written the climax,” Dhananjaya tells The Hindu. “I was confident this film could be made with people who believed in Poorna’s conviction. I enjoyed all the jokes in the script, and wanted to get this film on the floors as soon as possible.”

The Hindu caught the vibrant team of Mother Promise after the release of the Kannada movie on July 10, 2026. Yashwanth Shetty, a content creator known for his hilarious comedy sketches, says, “The humour is situational and absurd in a good way. A lot of creativity has gone into writing comedy that is not based on innuendo. The inventive one-liners are the cherry on the cake.”

Mother Promise is an ode to cinema as much as a reflection of Bengaluru’s cosmopolitan identity. Movie references including those from The Godfather, Donnie Brasco, Swades, Maine Pyar Kiya, Sarkar, Jogi, and Ekangi are peppered through the film. There is also a hilarious parody of the recent hit *Sapta Saagaradache Ello. *

“Movies have been a large part of my life since childhood,” says Poorna. “I am a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan, so you see plenty of his film posters in the movie. As audiences, we always enjoy spotting film references in a movie. Dialogues from popular movies make you nostalgic. I tried to recreate that effect in Mother Promise,“ explains the director, who plays one of the leads in the movie, with Dhananjaya and Mahadev Prasad.

Handling an ensemble cast in his directorial debut was a learning experience, admits Poorna. “I ensured there was no unhappy soul on the sets of Mother Promise. There was room for differences of opinion, but I was careful that it did not affect the shooting process. If you do not address your crew’s concerns, it carries a negative energy that spreads to the entire team. Sometimes, actors want to improvise, or assistant directors have suggestions. You need to value their contributions too.”

Mother Promise benefited from a smart marketing campaign. Anchored by creative producer Shashank Soghal (director of Daredevil Musthafa), the movie’s promotional activities were in sync with its comedic tone. The first poster of the movie, which had all 36 characters from the movie, became “the core memory of Mother Promise for

“All credit goes to Poorna and Lazy Brains, the agency that designed the poster. Dhananjaya is a star, but he was quite clear from the beginning that the spotlight was not to be only on him. So, Dhananjaya seated beside 35 other actors on the poster is a rarity. I don’t think any other star would be willing to do that,” says Shashank, adding that the challenge was to maintain the satirical tone of the film in the marketing campaigns. “We called Mother Promise a pan-universe

While the film got off to a solid start with more than 100 housefull shows, it is still a long away from being a massive blockbuster. Dhananjaya acknowledges the perilous situation of the Kannada film industry as filmmakers are going all out to convince people to come to theatres.

“It is not funny when I see social media posts that say ‘Kannada cinema is in ICU’,” stresses the actor. “It is a serious situation. We have to resurrect the Kannada film industry by consistently making movies with honesty. Mother Promise is an honest effort. I had the same feeling about Daredevil Musthafa (2023), which is why I presented it. Audiences can sense the honesty in a movie. I feel that, on social media, real rather than fake accounts must engage in conversations around cinema.”

Published - July 27, 2026 02:55 pm IST