Must-see Kannada movies and shows on August 11: Available in theatres and on OTT

Big-ticket releases from other industries have always been a major reason of concern for Kannada filmmakers, especially smaller teams, who try and avoid a clash at any cost. Only A-list stars take on the fight at the box office, like, for instance, Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2 and Beast and Darshan’s Kranti and Pathaan. But by and large, the rule is to steer clear for a week or two. This week, there are two big-time south releases , as well as two from Bollywood, which have swept up the screens/shows, meaning that no new Kannada films will be in theatres. Thothapuri Chapter 2, which was to release on August 11 has been pushed ahead and it remains to be seen if the spill-over films like Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare, Kousalya Supraja Rama and Aachar & Co will be able to retain shows this week.

What does that leave Kannada audiences with? A dubbed film in Kannada. Here’s this week’s pick

Jailer

Nelson Dilipkumar’s much-awaited Superstar Rajinikanth starrer is getting a massive release in Karnataka, with well over 1,200 shows. While the bulk of this is being dedicated to the Tamil original, the Kannada version of the film has also been allotted a few shows. The film has namma Century Star Shivarajkumar in a pivotal cameo, for which he has dubbed for himself. According to a synopsis doing the rounds on social media, Jailer is about Tiger Muthuvel Pandian’s (Rajinikanth) efforts to stop a gang from busting their leader out of a prison under his command. The film also stars Jackie Shroff, Vinayakan, Ramya Krishnan, among others, with Mollywood superstar Mohanlal also in a cameo.

Read also: Jailer: Rajinikanth reveals Nelson's strange request - 'name heroines who loved you'

Shivaji Surathkal: The Mysterious Case of Maayavi

The second film in director Akash Srivatsa’s Shivaji Surathkal detective universe is speculated to be this week’s OTT presentation. The film, led by Ramesh Aravind, released in theatres way back in April this year and was expected to make its way to OTT a month later. But the film did reasonably well at the box office , owing to which the OTT outing was pushed ahead. However, even after the theatrical run ended, there was no news of an OTT release. It was widely thought that since the first film was on Zee5 Kannada and leading man Ramesh has an ongoing relationship with the platform, Shivaji Surathkal: The Mysterious Case of Maayavi would also be available on the network. The buzz on social media is that Zee5 will bring the second film also to audiences, with the latest date one hears as August 11.

Read also: Shivaji Surathkal 2 review: Ramesh Aravind shines in a clumsy thriller that works sparingly