After releasing a striking first-look of Daiji starring Ramesh Aravind in September 2023, the makers recently released the teaser of the upcoming Kannada movie. Directed by Akash Srivatsa of Shivaji Surathkal films, the film is bankrolled by Ravi Kashyap.
The teaser has generated buzz for its dark tone and mysterious plot. The film, which delves into the horror genre, talks about the demigod named Daiji. “To invoke him, you have to follow a set of rules. You have to cover your face with colours, offer your blood, hold a sunflower, clap your hands thrice and call him with pure devotion, he will appear,” says the narrator in the teaser.
The teaser smartly doesn’t reveal much about the film’s story. Daiji appears to have an investigative angle, a trope familiar in Akash’s movies.
Avinash, Diganth, Giriraj BM and Radhika Narayan are the actors in the movie. The film has the tagline ‘The Beginning’, hinting at a possible sequel. Ravi Kashyap’s Vibha Kashyap Productions is the banner bankrolling the movie. Kashyap and Akash had previously collaborated for the director’s feature debut Badmaash (2016).
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“Daiji means ‘God of Spirits,’ and it explores love and life through a lens hardly seen in the horror genre. We plan to release the film by year-end or early 2026,” Akash had said during the teaser-launch event.
Shreesha Kuduvalli is the cinematographer and Judah Sandhy has done the background score. Akash has co-written the story with Abhijith YR. Shivaji Surathkal 2, released in 2023, was the previous collaboration between Akash and Ramesh Aravind.