Guru Shishyaru on OTT: Sharan’s kho-kho sports drama expected to start streaming on THIS date

Guru Shishyaru was Kannada actor Sharan’s third venture as producer and 15th as leading man. The film, which he co-produced with filmmaker Tharun Sudhir, released in theatres on September 23. It received good reviews and was widely appreciated for the content, but the box office response to it was not up to the mark. Within a week of its release, Kantara came out and swallowed the entire market.

The film, directed by Jadeesha K Hampi, is a period subject set in 1995, wherein a washed out former national level kho-kho athlete lands up at a remote village as the new PT master of the local school. While there, he begins coaching a bunch of young kho-kho enthusiasts for a tournament, the result of which will determine the fate of the village. Whether he can rise to the occasion and bring glory to the village is the crux of the film.

Starring Sharan in the lead, with Suresh Heblikar, Nishvika Naidu, Apurva Kasaravalli, Dattanna, among others in pivotal roles, Guru Shishyaru’s young kho-kho team included a bunch of star kids, including leading man Sharan’s son Hruday, Ekanth (son of Nenapirali Prem), Rakshak (late comedian Bullett Prakash’s son), Manikanta Nayak, son of MLA Raju Gowda, Suriya (Ravi Shankar Gowda’s son), and Naveen Krishna’s son Harshith. The boys were trained extensively in the intricacies of the game, before the shoot began, while Sharan sported a moustached look for the period film.

OTTplay had spoken to Sharan prior to the theatrical release, wherein he had explained, “What will be appealing is that the film is a sports drama too, revolving around a kho-kho team. As per the trailer, the film does look like a regular underdog story, so you know that the team will emerge victorious in the film. But that is not what the film is all about, which you will see when you watch Guru Shishyaru. The trailer has the gist of the film – what it is going to be like. We have provided audiences with certain expectations – this is a story set in a village in 1995. A PT master comes to this village with an agenda. There is so much more to this story, which I am excited to share with people,” he says.

The film’s satellite and digital rights had been picked up by Zee Network and although there is no official announcement yet, it is being reported that Guru Shishyaru will land on Zee5 Kannada after November 4, with the most likely date pegged as November 11.