After Kothalavadi theatre debacle, Yash's mother Pushpa to present Anushka Shetty's Ghaati in Karnataka

Pushpa Arunkumar alleges that willful refusal to allocate adequate theatres for her debut production Kothalavadi derailed the film. She is now taking matters in her hands

Pushpa Arunkumar to distribute Ghaati in Karnataka

She is better known as Rocking Star Yash’s mother, but Pushpa Arunkumar has been steadfastly working towards making a mark by herself. She recently turned to cinema production and launched a banner to promote new talent and do her bit for the Kannada film industry, citing Parvathamma Rajkumar as her inspiration. Her first venture was Kothalavadi, which hit theatres a week after 2 weeks after Ekka and 1 week after Su From So.

Pushpa Arunkumar alleges theatres were willfully withheld for Kothalavadi

Starring Pruthvi Ambaar, Gopalkrishna Deshpande among others in the lead, the film received middling reviews, and failed to pick up at the box office, which Pushpa claims is also down to the fact that the distributor willfully withheld good screens. She states that she had booked a bunch of theatres at least two weeks before her film was due in theatres and was told only on the eve of the release that many of the screens that she wanted would not be allocated to her.

The lack of theatres was a major issue for Kothalavadi, she argued and said in a recent interview to discuss Kothalavadi’s failure, that the release of the film was a major lesson for her. If the distributor could do wrong by her, Pushpa wondered what the fate of other producers who do not have the wherewithal to put up a fight was. She added that she was making plans to ensure that she does not face a similar issue again, but will also make sure that others like her do not suffer at the hands of distributors.

Also read: Pruthvi Ambaar: After Dia, I got a bunch of good experimental films, but I need to prove my marketability to sustain that

Earlier today, her plan was revealed when it was announced that Pushpa Arunkumar’s banner had bagged the Karnataka distribution rights of Anushka Shetty’s upcoming Telugu action crime drama Ghaati, which is set to release on September 5, 2025.

What will be interesting is the theatre list that Pushpa gets for Ghaati, considering that she is now up against a conglomerate of sorts, with multiple distributors operating under one umbrella.

FAQs

Q. Who is Pushpa Arunkumar?

A. Pushpa Arunkumar is a Kannada film producer. But she is better known as Rocking Star Yash’s mother.

Q. Which movie did Pushpa Arunkumar produce?

A. Pushpa Arunkumar’s debut production was Kothalavadi, starring Pruthvi Ambaar in the lead. It released on August 1, 2025, but did not do well, which she says was due to the lack of proper theatre allocation.

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