Big stars battle it out for for year-end dominance of Kannada screen

Bengaluru: The Kannada film industry expects to end the year with a bang – two richly mounted films are slated for release on December 25.

Mark, starring Sudeep, and 45, starring Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty, have generated intense excitement among film buffs in a year Kannada films have done moderately well.

It comes in the wake of Max, also starring Sudeep and again directed by Vijay Karthikeyaa.

In Max, the first collaboration between the two, a policeman with razor-sharp instincts outwits the black sheep in the force. It was one of the highest grossers of 2024.

While Mark shows all the trappings of a massy sequel, 45 pitches itself as a “philosophical entertainer”. The trailer is rich in VFX, created by a Canadian company, and the casting is unprecedented. All three heroes – Shivrajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty – have delivered big hits, but this is the first time their paths are crossing on the big screen. While Shivarajkumar has defined ‘mainstream’, Upendra has time and time again surprised his audiences with maverick, iconoclastic narratives. Music composer Arjun Janya debuts as a director with 45, which he has also written.

All eyes are on Raj, who produced Su from So, a horror comedy that turned out to be a sleeper hit earlier this year. He played Karunakara guruji, a role that parodied new age gurus who thrive on TV appearances and choreographed swagger. Written and directed by J P Thuminad, Su from So drove home a point – good writing and savvy performances can sometimes achieve what huge budgets and big stars can’t.

The biggest hit of the year has been Rishab Shetty’s Kantara A Legend Chapter 1. Released on October 2, it became one of India’s highest grossing films of the year.

Dubbed into multiple languages, Chapter 1 was a prequel to the hit Kantara, released in 2023.

The 2025 film evoked a distant past with stellar performances and rich graphics.

It pitches simple forest dwellers against greedy royals out to cheat them of their hard-earned produce. The film had its share of controversy, drawing criticism for suggesting that folk deities are aligned to deities from an overarching Hindu pantheon.

Critically acclaimed films in the year include Naale Raja Koli Maja (dir Abhilash Shetty), Hebbuli Cut (dir Bheemarao P), and Green Girl (dir Sarthak Hegde).

This year, Kannada cinema lost the legendary actor B Saroja Devi. The Devil, starring Darshan, now in jail on a murder charge, cruised along comfortably.

Shivarajkumar.