Siddharth Mahesh-Srinagara Kitty’s Garuda to release on May 20

In early January, when there was a sudden spike in Covid cases again, several big-ticket film releases were pushed ahead indefinitely, while the teams assessed the situation. But when the third wave of the pandemic remained relatively mild and manageable, economies opened up for business as usual again. Films were also back, as theatres reopened at 100% capacity.

For a lot of film teams, their release plans hinged on when a few big-ticket Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies would hit theatres, like for instance, Bheemla Nayak, Valimai, RRR, KGF: Chapter 2, Beast and Acharya, to name a few. While most have already released, KGF: Chapter 2 and Beast will be out this week, with Acharya to follow by the end of the month. For Kannada audiences, the next big release then is Rakshit Shetty’s 777 Charlie on June 10, followed by Kiccha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona, which is coming only by the end of July, making May and most of June available to others.

Starting with the last week of April, there are quite a few titles lined up now. While Melobba Mayavi and Shokiwala booked April 29, Avatara Purusha and Veeram took the May 6 slot. May 20 was earlier believed to be for Lucky Man, but the makers have decided to push it ahead, opening it up for Siddharth Mahesh’s Garuda.

The Dhanakumar directed film, which also stars Srinagara Kitty, Ashika Ranganath, Aindrita Ray and Kamna Jethmalani, among others, was announced today as a May 20 release. Announcing the revised date, after his earlier attempt to bring it to theatres in January, Siddharth wrote on social media, ““Sometimes waiting is the hardest thing of all, but when it is for the right time, it becomes a celebration. Garuda to release in theatres on 20 May 2022 and celebrate with you all”.

Garuda is Siddharth’s second film only after Sipayi. The film has been ready for a while, but it’s release got delayed because of the pandemic.