Shivaji Surathkal: Ranagiri Rahasya to get OTT outing on August 7

When the country went into lockdown at the end of March, among the many films that were suddenly looking at an uncertain future was Shivaji Surathkal: Ranagiri Rahasya. The Akash Srivatsa directorial had a three-week long good run at the box office when theatres shut as part of the lockdown. And while the team was hopeful of a return to movie halls back then, the way the Coronavirus pandemic spread across the world scuttled their plans.“When theatres shut, we honestly thought that we would be back in about a month. No one knew the severity of the pandemic and how it would affect life as we know it. Over time, it became clear to us that clinging on to the hope of a return to theatres was not right and that we needed to look at other means to get our film across to audiences,” says Akash.
As has been the trend since the pandemic, Shivaji Surathkal will also get an OTT outing soon. “On August 7, audiences can watch the mystery of Ranagiri Rahasya unfurl, when the film opens on Zee5. We are looking at having a TV premiere a week later on Zee Kannada, but the date is yet to be finalised,” says Akash.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker, who welcomed twin daughters earlier this year, has been busy playing doting father, while also working on the script for the sequel to Ranagiri Rahasya. “Since the lockdown, I have been brainstorming with Ramesh sir on video call every week. The script has been shaping up so well that we have content for at least six hours of footage. We can either look at making it two back-to-back films or a six-episode web series. Options are aplenty,” he signs off.