It narrates the tale of the 12th-century metaphysician, a son of a temple dancer, who embarks on a quest for knowledge and answers to his four core sentiments, yearning, and obsession – Maddales, failures, and self-realization.

[5] The film landed in controversy prior to its release in January 2016, after groups, such as Rashtriya Basavadal and Basava Peetha, staged demonstrations in Dharwad calling for its ban.

They alleged that the film wrongly depicts the ritual of wearing miniaturized iconographic form of the deity Shiva, the Jyotirlinga.

The protesters also said that Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi are depicted in the film without wearing the lingam.

They claimed that "all these scenes prove that it is a systematic approach to fabricate vachana sahitya", in a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister of Karnataka calling for the film's ban.