Latest Kannada OTT releases (December 16 – December 22) to watch on Prime Video, Hotstar, Netflix, Sony LIV, theatres and more

As the countdown to the year end begins, Kannada audiences have two major releases to look forward to. Kicking off the festive season is Real Star Upendra with his return to the director’s chair. The film is releasing simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi too.

The major release this week is Disney’s Lion King prequel, Mufasa, which, is getting Hindi, Telugu and Tamil dubbed versions only. So, the only other new Kannada option, besides Upendra’s film, is Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan’s action-packed pan-India project.

Here’s a look at what’s in store for audiences in theatres and on OTT in the week of December 16 to December 22

UI

Real Star Upendra’s UI has a shroud of secrecy surrounding it. The actor-filmmaker’s return to direction is a futuristic film that he’s envisioned, where people suffer the outcomes of socio-economic-political events. Set in 2040, the film, according to the official synopsis filed during censor certification, is about a king and an extraordinary man, with the latter taking control of everything held by the former and becoming a dictator.

UI also stars Reeshma Nanaiah, Sadhu Kokila, Nidhi Subbaiah, late Guruprasad, among others.

Releasing in: Theatres
Releasing on: December 20, 2024

Upendra on UI: I made this film to make audiences think 

Marco

In the 2019 film Mikhael, led by Nivin Pauly, one of the antagonists was Marco, a character played by Unni Mukundan, who was very volatile and violent, and was often seen flexing his muscles. The character of Marco has been given a spin-off, directed by Haneef Adeni, who also made the original film, Mikhael.

An action-packed thriller, Marco was censored A for its violence. The film has music by Ravi Basrur, while the cast includes the likes of Jagadish, Siddique, Kabir Duhan Singh, Yukti Thareja, Sreejith Ravi, Riyaz Khan, among others. Marco has been dubbed in Kannada too, but it remains to be seen how many screens/shows will be allotted to this version eventually.

Releasing in: Theatres
Releasing on: December 20, 2024

Mechanic Rocky

Vishwak Sen’s action comedy is set to drop on OTT within a month of its theatrical release. The Ravi Teja Mullapudi directorial received decent reviews, but that did not help its theatrical business. The film revolves around Vishwak’s title character, who runs a driving school, which faces the threat of closure, what with a local goon claiming ownership of the land it is on. Unwilling to lose his family business, Rocky sets out to find a means to keep the goon at bay. The Telugu original film will be available with Kannada audio too.

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Streaming date: December 20, 2024

Mechanic Rocky Review: The Vishwak Sen film starts slow but has a thrilling finish