PremiumMuch-awaited Shivarajkumar films that may not happen after all
Shivarajkumar
Last Updated: 06.49 PM, Apr 02, 2025
At any given point in time, Kannada cinema’s Century Star Shivarajkumar is the busiest actor in Sandalwood, with multiple projects announced either on his birthday, or during the course of the year. For instance, last year, Ghost director MG Srinivas, Hemanth M Rao, Nandakishore, joined filmmakers like Pavan Wadeyar, Dinakar Thoogudeepa, Lohith M, Kotresh Chapparadahalli, Tejasvi Nag, among others, who are waiting to get their projects with Shivarajkumar up and running.
The actor, who was last seen in his home production Bhairathi Ranagal , the prequel to Mufti, has a cameo in his daughter Niveditha’s maiden production venture Firefly that comes out on April 24, but his next as a leading man will be Arjun Janya’s directorial debut, 45, which releases for Independence Day. Since his return from the US where he had surgery for bladder cancer, Shivarajkumar has spoken about his as-yet-untitled 131st film that he will resume shooting for, as well as his cameo in Ram Charan’s next, Peddhi.
While Hemanth has said that his film will be put in the backburner for now because of the physically demanding nature of the role, the status of many of Shivarajkumar’s upcoming projects remains uknown. In fact, many of these films have been in the pipeline for years together, with no clarity on if and when they will take off.
In fact, there are a few films that had been announced that are unlikely to get done. Avana Srimannarayana director Sachin B Ravi’s Ashwatthama was meant to be a Shivarajkumar vehicle, but the filmmaker has taken his film to Bollywood. Simple Suni’s Manamohakka remained an announcement, while filmmaker Ravi Arasu’s RDX, which was later renamed to Jawa, has not been heard of since its muhurtha a few years ago.
Yet another film that’s most likely shelved is Khadar, which was to pair Rachita Ram with Shivarajkumar. The actor has a couple of R Chandru movies in his current lineup, but he has a history of not going ahead with it, as was the case with their earlier collaboration plan Kali. While Shivarajkumar eventually did a cameo in Kabzaa, the film’s sequel was supposed to follow his character in the lead, a development that he was not on board with. Amid all of this, Ram Dhulipudi’s Nee Sigovaregu, which was the actor’s 123rd film, is reportedly stalled and unlikely to be revived.