Gurudev Hoysala on OTT: Dhananjaya’s cop action thriller fixes digital partner

There’s a lot riding on Gurudev Hoysala for its leading man Dhananjaya. He’s had a spectacularly bad 2022, including his home production, Head Bush, and is looking at redeeming himself in the eyes of his fans and audiences. This is also a film that will see him in a full-fledged action avatar, a genre of cinema that he intends to stick to going forward. Action entertainers for family audiences is his current motto. The film is releasing in theatres on March 30. The film was initially meant to be a Rajyotsava 2022 release, but was delayed and had to be pushed ahead.

Recently it seemed that the march 30 release may not happen, as another film team claimed to hold the title Hoysala and that their film was censored and ready to hit theatres. They had then sought legal recourse to stop Dhananjaya and co from bringing their film to theatres, but the latter just changed their title and made it Gurudev Hoysala to stick to their original plan.

The film, meanwhile, has done its pre-release business already, with Amazon Prime Video picking up the digital rights. This was expected, given that KRG Studios and Hombale Films have an ongoing relationship with the streaming service. The satellite rights of Gurudev Hoysala have gone to Star Suvarna. There is no tentative date yet for the film’s OTT outing, but given the banner’s track record, it is unlikely to be a 30-day deal.

With a story set in Belagavi, Hoysala has Dhananjaya in cop mode as Gurudev, a senior patrol officer manning a Hoysala in the city. The actor is paired with Amrutha Iyengar yet again. The film has music by Ajaneesh Loknath.

Gurudev Hoysala is Dhananjaya’s second collaboration with KRG Studios. Their first was Rathnan Prapancha, directed by Rohit Padaki. The banner’s next, Uttarakaanda will also be with Dhananjaya in the lead and will mark Ramya’s return to films. Uttarakaanda is a tale about the gangs of north Karnataka.