With film stuck in a release rut, 'Shubhamangala' director embarks on a Kanyakumari to Kashmir cycle journey

The pandemic, over the past two years, has slowly infused a new sensibility into the general public. Along with the improved and interesting techniques to help deal with the lockdowns, many have embraced newer hobbies and philosophies to guide them through this tricky period. In the very vein, Kannada filmmaker Santhosh Gopal has taken things a notch above by finally realizing his dream of being an explorer.
Unable to release his debut film, 'Shubhamangala', which stars Meghana Gaonkar, Hitha Chandrashekar, Siddharth Madyamika, and others, Santhosh Gopal (a seasoned adventurer already) decided on taking his bicycle out on the tarmac. With the mighty Kanyakumari to Kashmir trail on his mind, covering a distance of close to 3,500 km, Santhosh ventured on the long-awaited dream with full gusto and has been sharing each facet of his experience through special vlogs on YouTube.

Speaking about his special expedition in vlog, Santhosh shares: "Life had come down to an eat-sleep-repeat mod and that's when I decided on taking my bicycle out. I have reached Kanyakumari to begin the journey and the plan is to reach Kashmir at the end of it - beyond that, I don't have any other plan set out except to continue riding if I have the time or simply stay over in the nearest town".
Santhosh also goes to speak about his love for traveling and adventures, stating that he has previously covered the Sar Pass and Chadar treks along with a bike trip from Bengaluru to Sikkim and back. When Times News Network caught up with him during the ongoing cycle trip, Santhosh revealed that he plans on covering about 120 km a day to reach Kashmir via Kasargod, Udupi, Goa, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Rajasthan, Punjab, etc. to cover close to 4000 km.

Coming to 'Shubhamangala', the film was first premiered in the 2020 edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES). The crowd-funded project, comprising of more than 35 members, was to release theatrically in 2020 but the first wave of the pandemic played spoilsport. To make things worse, the release plans were again affected by the subsequent second wave in 2021 and with the onset of the third and current wave, Santhosh and team seemed to have taken a much-needed break from all the planning. The poster of the film was launched recently by Rakshit Shetty.