Kannada film director Santhu made his directorial debut in 2012 with the movie Alemari, which, although did not fare well at the box office, won him the Best Debut Film Of Newcomer Director at the Karnataka State Film Awards. Next, he directed the Yogesh and Bhanu-starrer drama Darling in 2014, following which he was associated with the action romance Dove, featuring Rakesh Adiga, Adithi Rao, and Anup Sara Govind in pivotal roles. In 2017, Santhu cast Samyuktha Hegde and Vikky Varun in the Kannada drama College Kumar, which is the coming-of-age story of a notorious college boy called Kumar. His other releases includes Victory 2 and Bicchugatthi.