# Mithya (ಮಿಥ್ಯ) (2023 film)
Released in 2023, **Mithya** (ಮಿಥ್ಯ) is an Indian drama made in the Kannada language, with Sumanth Bhat handling both the script and direction and [Rakshit Shetty](https://www.edgepedia.org/rakshit-shetty) serving as producer through his company Paramvah Pictures.[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc) It stars Athish S Shetty, Prakash Thuminad, and Roopa Varkady, and follows an eleven-year-old boy, Mithun, who is called Mithya after losing his parents in Mumbai and moving to his relatives' home in Udupi, in coastal [Karnataka](https://www.edgepedia.org/karnataka).[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc) • [2](https://scroll.in/article/1081728/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) The film had its world premiere at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 and reached theaters on 7 March 2025, nearly two years after it was made.[3](https://mami.mumbaifilmfestival.com/media/mithya-review-athish-shetty-shines-as-a-trapped-soul-in-an-emotional-tug-of-war/) • [4](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Sumanth Bhat, for whom Mithya is a debut feature film[5](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Oct/31/rakshit-shetty-backed-mithya-debuts-at-jio-mami-festival-2628461.html) |
| Producer | Rakshit Shetty, Paramvah Pictures LLP[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc) |
| Cast | Athish S Shetty (Mithun, called Mithya), Prakash Thuminad, Roopa Varkady[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc) |
| Runtime and language | 98 minutes, Kannada (with Marathi also credited on IMDb)[6](https://www.indiememe.org/films/mithya) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/) |
| Premiere | World premiere at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023, South Asia Competition[3](https://mami.mumbaifilmfestival.com/media/mithya-review-athish-shetty-shines-as-a-trapped-soul-in-an-emotional-tug-of-war/) |
| Theatrical release | 7 March 2025 in India, distributed by KRG Studios[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/companycredits/) |
| Streaming | Amazon Prime Video[9](https://www.ottplay.com/features/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-interview/3293c7ac9e502) |
| IMDb rating | 7.7/10 from about 243 votes[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and themes
Mithun, an eleven-year-old known as Mithya, loses both his parents: his father has died, and his mother has died by suicide, and Mithya is the one who found her body.[2](https://scroll.in/article/1081728/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) He and his younger sister Vandhana are brought to Udupi by his maternal aunt Jyothi (Roopa Varkady) to live with her family, including her husband Surya (Prakash Thuminad) and their daughter.[2](https://scroll.in/article/1081728/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) Because Mithya was raised in Mumbai, he barely speaks Kannada, which makes settling into the new household and a new school harder.[2](https://scroll.in/article/1081728/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) The story follows his search for solid ground: whether a new house can become home and whether friendships can be forged again.[6](https://www.indiememe.org/films/mithya)
The film also brings in a custody dispute over the children and a period in a juvenile home, and Mithya learns secrets about his family that change his life.[9](https://www.ottplay.com/features/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-interview/3293c7ac9e502) • [10](https://www.ica.art/films/mithya) Bhat has described the film as a coming-of-age story that asks how children cope with loss and how long their wounds take to heal.[5](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Oct/31/rakshit-shetty-backed-mithya-debuts-at-jio-mami-festival-2628461.html) Although the protagonist and several other main characters are children, he has been explicit that it is not a children's film: "In terms of the story and theme, Mithya is a complex film... Mithya is a film with kids for adults."
[11](https://www.ottplay.com/news/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-i-will-not-do-another-film-like-this-until/af03523033557)
## Production and crew
Sumanth Bhat came to filmmaking from a software engineering and entrepreneurship background, was a member of the writing team at Paramvah, and had written episodes of the web series Ekam before Mithya, his first feature.[5](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Oct/31/rakshit-shetty-backed-mithya-debuts-at-jio-mami-festival-2628461.html) • [6](https://www.indiememe.org/films/mithya) Rakshit Shetty, who had recently won a National Award for his production 777 Charlie, framed the project as part of his support for content-driven films, saying that "content-rich narratives are the soul of cinema" and that there is space for both big-budget and content-backed films in Indian cinema.[12](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Nov/06/content-rich-narratives-are-soul-of-cinema-rakshit-shetty-on-backing-mithya-2630547.html)
The technical crew includes Midhun Mukundan for music, Udit Khurana as cinematographer, Bhuvanesh Manivannan as editor, and Shreyank Nanjappa as sound designer and re-recording mixer.[13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/fullcredits/) India Today's review credited Khurana's cinematography, which moves between the landscapes of Udupi and tight close-ups of the boy's face, and Mukundan's music and Nanjappa's sound design with carrying much of the film's emotional work.[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07) The MAMI festival coverage noted a consistent visual approach: Bhat and Khurana film Mithya largely from behind, following him through doorways and along the coast, so that the viewer shares his uncertain view of the future.[3](https://mami.mumbaifilmfestival.com/media/mithya-review-athish-shetty-shines-as-a-trapped-soul-in-an-emotional-tug-of-war/)
## Festival run and theatrical release
Mithya debuted globally at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which ran from October 27 through November 5, 2023; it was among the event's 250 world premieres that year and one of 40 films to premiere worldwide there.[5](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Oct/31/rakshit-shetty-backed-mithya-debuts-at-jio-mami-festival-2628461.html) It was later screened at the London Indian Film Festival in 2024[10](https://www.ica.art/films/mithya) and, according to India Today, formed part of the Asian Cinema Competition at the 15th Bengaluru International Film Festival.[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07)
**A delayed release.** Although the film was ready in 2023, Shetty held it back, following a strategy of building word-of-mouth credibility at festivals before a theatrical release.[14](https://theprint.in/feature/wheres-the-kannada-pride-now-mithya-is-asking/2544509/) It opened in Karnataka theaters on 7 March 2025, two years after it was made.[14](https://theprint.in/feature/wheres-the-kannada-pride-now-mithya-is-asking/2544509/) The theatrical turnout was small; PTI reported that on a busy Sunday evening in a Bengaluru mall, only a handful of viewers attended a screening, and Bhat said he was prepared for this, noting that expensive theater outings tend to go to mainstream films.[14](https://theprint.in/feature/wheres-the-kannada-pride-now-mithya-is-asking/2544509/) The film later began streaming on Amazon Prime Video.[9](https://www.ottplay.com/features/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-interview/3293c7ac9e502)
## Reception
The film received critical acclaim for its direction, writing, sound design, and Athish Shetty's performance.[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc) The ICA's festival note called it "a delicate coming-of-age tale exploring themes of loss and acceptance" grounded by an "extraordinary central performance" from the young lead.[10](https://www.ica.art/films/mithya) India Today's review described the film as a symbolic display of stages of grief through an eleven-year-old's life, while observing that lingering shots sometimes made scenes feel prolonged.[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07) On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.7/10 from about 243 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/)
## References
1. [Mithya, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/mithya/umc.cmc.5z0fx45a3wa4b16jwjw3fpacc)
2. [Start the week with a film: 'Mithya' is a haunting portrait of a boy scarred by loss, Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/article/1081728/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta)
3. [Mithya review: Athish Shetty shines as a trapped soul in an emotional tug of war, MAMI Mumbai Film Festival](https://mami.mumbaifilmfestival.com/media/mithya-review-athish-shetty-shines-as-a-trapped-soul-in-an-emotional-tug-of-war/)
4. [Mithya review: A symbolic display of stages of grief through an 11-year-old's life, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/mithya-review-a-symbolic-display-of-several-stages-of-grief-through-an-11-year-olds-life-2689990-2025-03-07)
5. [Rakshit Shetty-backed 'Mithya' debuts at Jio MAMI Festival, The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Oct/31/rakshit-shetty-backed-mithya-debuts-at-jio-mami-festival-2628461.html)
6. [Mithya, Indie Meme](https://www.indiememe.org/films/mithya)
7. [Mithya (2023), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/)
8. [Mithya (2023) company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/companycredits/)
9. [Sumanth Bhat on Mithya, Grief, and the Inner Lives of Children, Ottplay](https://www.ottplay.com/features/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-interview/3293c7ac9e502)
10. [Mithya, Institute of Contemporary Arts](https://www.ica.art/films/mithya)
11. [Mithya director Sumanth Bhat: 'I will not do another film like this until…', Ottplay](https://www.ottplay.com/news/mithya-director-sumanth-bhat-i-will-not-do-another-film-like-this-until/af03523033557)
12. [Content-rich narratives are soul of cinema: Rakshit Shetty on backing 'Mithya', The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2023/Nov/06/content-rich-narratives-are-soul-of-cinema-rakshit-shetty-on-backing-mithya-2630547.html)
13. [Mithya (2023) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29451496/fullcredits/)
14. [Where's the Kannada pride now, 'Mithya' is asking, ThePrint/PTI](https://theprint.in/feature/wheres-the-kannada-pride-now-mithya-is-asking/2544509/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Kannada films of the 2020s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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