After Kaatera’s OTT debut, audiences say it’s Darshan’s best film

Kannada superstar Darshan’s Kaatera, which released in theatres at the end of December last year, was the box office hit the Challenging Star desperately needed, after the debacle that was Kranti at the start of 2023. Prior to its release, there were rumours that Kaatera was a remake of Tamil film by Dhanush, and there was apprehension about its period setting, but director Tharun Kishore managed to silence everyone with his film.

Written by Jadesha K Hampi (director of Guru Shishyaru and Gentleman) and Tharun, Kaatera, set during feudal landlord times, which had Darshan as a lowly blacksmith, who has to stand up against those oppressing the people in his village, the film was not only a runaway hit, but also lauded for bringing back Darshan the performer. As massy as Kaatera was, the film was high on content too and was not just about elevating Darshan the star.

Kaatera review - Challenging Star Darshan is solid, effective in Tharun Sudhir's well-meaning film 

Now that the film is out on OTT on Zee5 Kannada, there’s been a steady stream of comments on social media about what audiences are loving in it. But what many are also saying is that Kaatera is Darshan’s best film yet. While a few others don’t go the whole hog, they do add that the film is Darshan’s best in the last 10 years at least.

The Challenging Star plays the title role, Kaatera, who is pushed to taking up the very weapons he’s been forging as a livelihood, to fight against the oppression unleashed on people like him. He is paired with debutante Aradhanaa, the daughter of veteran actress Malashree. The film also stars Shruthi Krishnan, Shwetha Prasad, Rohith Pandavapura, Kumar Govind, Avinash, Ravi Chethan, Padma Vasanthi, Biradar, among others.

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Kaatera has music by V Harikrishna, whose inclusion in the project was not the most liked by fans of the actor, considering that he had directed Darshan’s earlier flop, Kranti. Fans had been urging the Challenging Star not to collaborate with Harikrishna, but the team of Kaatera stuck to their guns and Harikrishna didn’t disappoint, when he was asked to only do what he does best – music. The BGM of Kaatera is one of the film’s major highlights.

Kaatera is currently streaming on Zee5 Kannada. You can also watch the Darshan starrer on OTTplay Premium.