Raj B Shetty’s directorial Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana turned out to be a blockbuster hit in theatres, and now, it is set to be released on Zee 5 on January 13. Raj is hoping that the ott release receives a similar response as the theatrical release of the film. “The success of Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana in theatres is more like our visiting card for the next two years. Even though it was released only in Kannada, it managed to reach out to a wider audience. The OTT release will only add more strength to us,” says Raj.

He adds, “As an industry, Kannada cinema, in general, is not dictating terms when it comes to streaming platforms. However, if a film like GGVV does well on OTT, it might help us to get what we deserve in the coming days.” “GGVV was among many top ten lists of 2021. People of different tongues were also aware of the film, but they didn’t have access to it. So, the OTT release will have a good reach. Releasing our films on a popular streaming channel also becomes necessary because this will bring down the monopoly of certain digital platforms, which usually come with a lot of conditions while negotiating. Certain popular streaming platforms are not even interested in watching the content before the release because of the language. I hope it changes,” he says.

When asked about the reports of the Tamil remake rights of GGVV being sold to director, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Raj says, “I would want to wait for an official announcement before I comment on it.”

Talking about his future projects, Raj says that he still has some unfinished business with GGVV. He says, “Since I had taken the productional responsibilities, there is a lot of pending work which needs to be finished before I take up my next project.”

Presented by Rakshit Shetty’s Paramvah Studios and distributed by KRG Studios, GGVV also stars Raj himself, Rishab Shetty, and Gopalkrishna Deshpande. While the film’s music is by Midhun Mukundhan, Praveen Shriyan has handled the cinematography and editing.