Neeli Hakki out on OTT: Ganesh Hegde’s award-winning tale of a child’s understanding of home and migration is streaming now
Neeli Hakki on OTT: The film, which did the festival run in 2021-22, has skipped a theatrical release and made it to OTT now. It stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Nidhi Hegde and Aman S Karkera
Last Updated: 06.01 PM, Feb 27, 2026
The Kannada film Neeli Hakki , which got Ganesh Hegde a state award for Best Debut Directorial way back in 2020 and then did a year-long festival run ending in 2022, is now on OTT. The film was finally able to skip a theatrical release and make it to a streamer when Sun NXT agreed to pick it up. Neeli Hakki dropped on Sun NXT (available via OTTplay Premium also) as of February 27, 2026. The film, which has a run-time of about 90 minutes only, stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Nidhi Hegde and Aman S Karkera in the lead.
What is Neeli Hakki about?
Neeli Hakki is set in a small village on the outskirts of a forest, where an impoverished family of three tries to make a living. The head of the family is Maasti (Gopalkrishna), who hopes to strike rich with his current crop, but can just never get the fencing work to keep wild boar out done. His wife Ganapi manages the household with the meagre income from her small vegetable patch; she’d rather sell it and make a few bucks than cook it for her family. And then there’s young Sidda, who spends more time on the fringes of the forest listening to his grandfather’s stories about life in the wild.
The boy’s world comes crashing down when Maasti makes the difficult decision for the family to leave behind their house and land and head to the city. Maasti goes from modest land owner to menial daily wage labourer who is not even in a position to bargain for a better pay day despite back-breaking work. Ganapi finds work as a house help, but soon realizes that her socio-economic standing will forever have her employers look at her with suspicion, waiting for the moment that she does something dishonest.
But then, she reckons it is something she can live with, if they are able to save a few thousands every month. Little Sidda’s best is what Maasti and Ganapi hope for, but his heart and soul were left behind in the village, a reality he struggles with. Will he be able to cope with the hustle and bustle of city life? That is what Ganesh’s film explores.
Neeli Hakki FAQs
Q. Is Neeli Hakki an award-winning film?
A. Yes. Debutant filmmaker Ganesh Hegde was adjudged Best Debut Director at the Karnataka State Film Awards 2020 for Neeli Hakki
Q. Where to watch Neeli Hakki?
A. Following a successful film festival run, Neeli Hakki droppeed on Sun NXT (via OTTplay Premium also), on February 27, 2026.