Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (transl. Mysterious forest: Chapter 1) is a 2025 Indian Kannada-language mythological action film film[6][7][8] written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda under Hombale Films. The film stars Rishab Shetty along with Jayaram, Rukmini Vasanth, and Gulshan Devaiah. A prequel to the 2022 film Kantara, the story delves deeper into the origins of the tradition and ancestral conflict introduced in the first film.Set in pre-colonial coastal Karnataka, the film explores the ancient roots of the Buta Kola ritual and the lore and history explored in the first film released in 2022. Like its predecessor, the prequel blends regional folklore, spirituality, and action, continuing the saga of man's relationship with nature and the divine.Filming began in November 2023. The first look and teaser was released on 27 November 2023. The publicity poster was designed by Kaani Studio.[15][16] B. Ajaneesh Loknath composed the soundtrack and background score. The film was released on 2 October 2025, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra, in standard, IMAX, D-Box, ICE, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and EPIQ formats. Like its predecessor, the film received positive reviews from critics. Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1 is currently the second-highest grossing Kannada film of all time,[17] second-highest grossing Indian film of 2025,[18] highest grossing Kannada film of 2025[19] and also ranks among highest-grossing Indian films
KGF: Chapter 2 is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language period action film[20] written and directed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under his Hombale Films banner. It serves as the direct sequel to KGF: Chapter 1 (2018), as well as the second installment in the KGF franchise. The film stars an ensemble cast of Yash, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, Srinidhi Shetty, Prakash Raj, Achyuth Kumar, Rao Ramesh, Vasishta N. Simha, Ayyappa P. Sharma, Produced on a budget of ₹100 crore, KGF: Chapter 2 was at the time of release the most expensive Kannada film ever made. Neel retained the technicians from its predecessor with Bhuvan Gowda handling the cinematography and Ravi Basrur composed the film score and songs. Dutt and Tandon joined the cast in early 2019, marking the former's Kannada film debut. Portions of the film were shot simultaneously with Chapter 1.Filming resumed five months later in August 2020 and was completed in December 2020. Locations included Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore and Kolar.KGF: Chapter 2 was theatrically released in India on 14 April 2022 in Kannada, along with dubbed versions in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi languages. It is also the first Kannada film to release in IMAX. The film received critical acclaim for its acting, action sequences, direction, and story and emotional weight and became one of the greatest and most popular films from Kannada Cinema. It recorded the fourth highest-opening day in India, set domestic opening day records in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam, and surpassed the lifetime gross of its predecessor in two days to become the highest-grossing Kannada film. With earnings of ₹1,190−1,250 crore globally,[21] KGF: Chapter 2 is the second highest grossing Indian film of 2022 worldwide, highest grossing film of 2022 in India, fifth highest-grossing Indian film worldwide, and the third highest-grossing film in India.
Kirik Party: is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by Govind Sahai Guptha and Rakshit Shetty, under Paramvah Studios.[6] It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde, Achyuth Kumar, Aravinnd Iyer, Dhananjay Ranjan, Chandan Achar and Pramod Shetty play prominent roles. Rakshit Shetty wrote the story and co-wrote the script with a team called "The Seven Odds", which consisted of Rakshit Shetty, Rishab Shetty, Abhijith Mahesh, Dhananjay Ranjan, Kiranraj K, Chandrajith Belliappa. The film marks the acting debut of Rashmika Mandanna and Samyuktha Hegde. The film marks the second directorial venture of Rishab Shetty after Ricky (2016). The principal photography commenced on 17 April 2016 at Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan and was completed in September 2016.[7] Karm Chawla and Sachin Ravi handled the cinematography and editing, while the music was composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, which became viral upon its release.Kirik Party was released worldwide on 30 December 2016 to positive reviews from critics and became one of the highest grossing Kannada films of all time and also had a 365-days run in multiplexes.[8][4] It won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Family Entertainer, and was nominated in seven categories at the 64th Filmfare Awards South, winning five of them. It also received five awards at the IIFA Utsavam and seven awards at the 6th South Indian International Movie Awards. The film was remade in Telugu as Kirrak Party (2018)
12th Fail: is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film directed, produced and written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is based on the 2019 eponymous non-fiction book by Anurag Pathak about Manoj Kumar Sharma, who overcame extreme poverty to become an Indian Police Service officer and Shraddha Joshi Sharma (Indian Revenue Service Officer).[4] The film stars Vikrant Massey as Sharma, alongside Medha Shankr, Anant Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar and Priyanshu Chatterjee. Released theatrically on 27 October 2023, 12th Fail received widespread critical acclaim and emerged as a sleeper hit, grossing over ₹69 crore (US$8.2 million) worldwide on a ₹20 crore (US$2.4 million) budget.[3][5][6] At the 69th Filmfare Awards, it won five awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Critics) (Massey).[7] At the 71st National Film Awards, the film won 2 awards: Best Feature Film and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Massey). Born in dacoit-infested Chambal, Manoj Kumar Sharma is the son of a clerk. His father, an honest man, is suspended for hitting a corrupt officer. Manoj prepares cheat slips for his Class 12 exams, as do all his batchmates. The teachers at the local school help students cheat. However, a newly transferred police officer, DSP Dushyant Singh, stops cheating at the school. As a result, all the students, including Manoj, fail the exam. Meanwhile, Manoj's father leaves home and went to Gwalior to challenge his suspension in the High Court. To support the family, Manoj and his brother run a traveling rickshaw. However, his brother is falsely accused of smuggling alcohol after hitting the local henchman of the MLA after he tries to have their passengers travel on a bus. Local police officers frame his brother, but Manoj bails him out with the help of DSP Dushyant. When Manoj expresses his desire to become an officer like him, Dushyant advises him to "stop cheating".
Max:
is a 2024 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by debutant Vijay Karthikeyaa and jointly produced by Kalaippuli S.
Thanu under V Creations and Sudeepa under Kichcha Creations. Alongside producing the film, Sudeepa also plays the titular role,
alongside an ensemble cast of Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sunil, Samyukta Hornad, Sukrutha Wagle and Anirudh Bhat.[5] The music is composed by B.
Ajaneesh Loknath, while cinematography and editing were handled by Shekar Chandra and S. R. Ganesh Baabu.[6][7][8] Max was theatrically released on 25 December 2024,
coinciding with Christmas in Kannada, alongside Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages. It emerged as the highest grossing Kannada film of 2024 Inspector Arjun Mahakshay
must clear his name after the local minister's sons Michael and Veera get killed in the police station where Max works in after getting suspended for an unknown reason.
He lies to the commissioner and tries to bury the bodies with the help of the other constables and inspectors (which is shown in first half of film).
In second half of the film, it is shown that Max, along with the other police officers, kill all of the minister's men.