PremiumUpadhyaksha OTT release date: Watch Chikkanna’s comedy as leading man now
Upadhyaksha is the sequel to Adyaksha, in which Chikkanna’s character was the upadhyaksha. With the Anil Kumar directorial, he makes the transition to lead hero.
Last Updated: 03.26 PM, Mar 09, 2024
One of Kannada cinema’s most popular comedians, Chikkanna made the transition from supporting actor to lead hero on Republic Day when Upadhyaksha released in theatres. The film directed by Anil Kumar was the sequel to the 2014 Adhyaksha, in which Sharan was the leading man and Chikkanna was the upadhyaksha in the tale. Cut to 10 years later, and Chikkanna revisited this premise, putting the focus on his character for a film that went on to become a box office success.
At the time of the release, Upadhyaksha did not have an OTT partner on board, a deal that’s come through along the way, following its good theatrical showing. As of March 8, the film has been available to stream on Sun NXT, with the rights going to Sun Network. The television rights should be with Udaya TV then.
Upadhyaksha heads back to Gejjepura, where Narayana Gowda (Chikkanna) is still the vice president of the Chi Thu Sangha. He’s got differences with the local landlord Shivarudre Gowda, but then Narayana is forced to work for him, unable to repay a loan his father had taken. While at it, Narayana catches the eye of Shivarudre’s daughter Anjali, a match that is vehemently opposed, forcing the lovebirds to run away. What happens thereafter forms the crux of the tale.
While Upadhyaksha did not offer much in terms of a new storyline and followed pretty much the same template as Adhyaksha, this time around, Chikkanna had to do all the heavy-lifting as far as the film’s comedy goes. The general consensus among audiences was that the film was ‘pakka paisa vasool’ and provided good entertainment and laughs galore, even if some of the comedy was strictly meant for adults only.
In the time since Upadhyaksha’s release, Chikkanna is yet to announce a follow up as leading man. The actor had once said that he’s not hung up about only being hero, so he may just continue being the trusty funny man in other films.