Rudhra Garuda Purana on OTT: Rishi’s mystery thriller gets streaming partner

Operation Alamelamma, Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha and Kavaludaari fame Rishi’s last release, Rudhra Garuda Purana, was in theatres in January this year. The film, a mystery thriller that had Rishi in cop mode again, and directed by KS Nandeesh, had opened to mixed reviews. It was expected to make its way to OTT within a month’s time, with reports suggesting that it would be on Prime Video, the platform that has consistently been picking up Kananda films, but there’s been no word on this.

Rudhra Garuda Purana headed to JioHotstar

According to a source, Rudhra Garuda Purana is headed to another platform altogether. The film has been picked up by JioHotstar, with the streaming premiere delayed owing to formalities at the platform’s end, owing to the merger between JioCinema and Hotstar. It is expected to drop on the platform in May 2025, making it the first Kannada film in a while to have been acquired by either of the erstwhile networks. Rishi’s debut film as a leading man, Operation Alamelamma was on Voot, which then became JioCinema and is now JioHotstar.

In the film, Rishi was Inspector Rudhra, tasked with investigating the disappearance of an MLA’s son, who was, according to eye witnesses, last seen boarding a public service bus, along with his girlfriend. When Rudhra begins digging into the boy’s last known movements, though, it is revealed that the bus that people claimed to have seen, has not been operational for a quarter of a century. Can he get to the bottom of this mystery?

Rishi, whose last release was the Telugu film Daaku Maharaj, has projects lined up both in Kannada and Telugu that will be announced in due course of time. Recently, the Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege actor was announced as one of the leads in an upcoming thriller called Mangalapuram, along with Abhimanyu Kashinath.