Shivaji Surathkal
Shivaji Surathkal: The Case of Ranagiri Rahasya is a 2020 Indian Kannada-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Akash Srivatsa, who also co-wrote the film with Abhijith YR, and produced by Anup Hanumanthe Gowda. It stars Ramesh Aravind and Radhika Narayan in lead roles.
Shivaji Surathkal: The Case of Ranagiri Rahasya was released on 21 February 2020 where it received positive reviews from critics. Inspired by Murder on the Orient Express, the film went on to become the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2020. The success of the film, led the makers to create a franchise and a sequel of the film titled Shivaji Surathkal: The Mysterious Case of Maayavi which released on 14 April 2023.
Premise
Detective Shivaji Surathkal leaves to an eerie resort in Ranagiri to investigate the death of Roshan Ravi, the son of Home Minister Rajiv Ravi. While searching for clues, Shivaji must deal with his own trauma of losing his wife Janani and analyse the 11 suspects behind Roshan's death.
Reception
Critical response
Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Akash Srivatsa surely seems to have redeemed himself as a storyteller after his debut outing Badmaash. A sequel to a film like this that has the potential to become a franchise would be welcome, so watch this one and stay on track." A. Sharaadha of The New Indian Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ramesh Aravind sheds his regular image, and this transformation was possible only because of the director and writer’s imagination, and the actor’s versatility." Naveen Ms of FilmiBeat writing for its Kannada version gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that the film has enough suspense, enough emotion...while praising the acting of Ramesh Aravind and other members of the cast. He also praised the visuals and music of the movie. Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "Despite an interesting premise, the film is an underwhelming murder mystery".
Box office
The film was reported to have collected ₹2 crore in the first week of its run.
Sequel
On September 10, 2021, Akash Srivatsa announce the film's sequel titled as Shivaji Surathkal: The Mysterious Case of Maayavi and also revealed that the titular character will be seen in three different shades.