Shodha on OTT: Pawan Kumar-led Kannada suspense thriller gets new streaming date

Shodha, which also stars Siri Ravikumar, Anusha Ranganath, Arun Sagar and Saptami Gowda, was meant to be on the platform on August 22 and has been pushed ahead

Shodha, the Kannada web series headlined by actor-filmmaker Pawan Kumar, in what is his first as a leading man, was meant to drop on Z5 (via OTTplay Premium too), on August 22. Promotions had begun, a trailer was dropped to give audiences a glimpse into what to expect and then, out of the blue, the platform announced a change. Shodha was moving to a new date; it would now premiere on August 29.

Pawan Kumar leads Shodha

Shodha postponed for Kantara-fame Saptami Gowda

Speaking at a press briefing about this change, RJ Pradeepa, the Head of Originals at Z5, said that Shodha includes a few pivotal cameos, including one by Kantara fame Saptami Gowda and that the delay was to incorporate a few more scenes featuring her to make the narrative more intriguing and interesting. Directed by Sunil Mysuru (of Orchestra, Mysuru! fame), Shodha also stars Siri Ravikumar, Arun Sagar and Anusha Ranganath in main roles.

The series revolves around Pawan’s character Rohit, a lawyer in Madikeri, whose life is upended when he fails to recognise his wife, Meera (Siri Ravikumar). He insists that she’s an imposter and part of an elaborate scheme to paint him insane, but she says he’s got brain trauma. Which one is it? Also, what would anyone strand to gain from proving that Rohit is crazy? That is what is at the core of Shodha.

Even though the team is incorporating more scenes featuring Saptami, it remains a 6-episode show, with a run-time of around 20 minutes per episode. The show, which is Z5’s newest presentation after the success of Ayyana Mane, is, according to reports, the remake of a 2024 Hindi series called Khoj - Parchaiyo Ke Uss Paar, which is available on the same platform.

While the makers have not confirmed this, Pawan, who also served as ‘script doctor’ admitted that Shodha finds its roots in an earlier tale that has been adapted several times over the years. Shodha marks the web series debut for Arun Sagar, who plays a cop for the first time. Pawan was earlier seen in Kudi Yedamaithe (Telugu) and Honeymoon (Kannada), while Siri has been a part of Kyaabre and By Mistake. Honeymoon and By Mistake are available on OTTplay Premium.