After a theatrically released mixed verdict, Anushka Shetty’s latest movie Ghaati is changing gears to streaming. The film will hit Amazon Prime Video from 26 September 2025 onwards and will take its dark rural crime thriller to far-off corners of India and international nations.
Film & OTT Details: Languages, Platform & Timing
Produced by First Frame Entertainments and marketed under UV Creations, Ghaati was released in theaters on 5 September 2025. Prime Video had picked OTT streaming rights and will make it available in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada languages from 26 September onwards. The release ensures that Ghaati reaches out to viewers across multiple linguistic markets beyond viewers who saw it in theaters.
Commentators note that such three-week delay between theater and digital release is not unusual in today’s marketplace — giving Ghaati time to accumulate boxoffice collections before switching over to streaming.
Plot & Premise: The Grit Beneath the Drama
It’s directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and written by Chintakindi Srinivas Rao. The film is photographed across India’s Eastern Ghats belt dividing Andhra from Odisha and is centered on marginalized ghaatis driven into illicit trade and smuggling networks.
Anushka essays Sheelavathi, whose agony from pain, oppression, and injustice pushes her to change from victim to figure of resistance. Her husband Desi Raju, played by Vikram Prabhu (in his Telugu movie), joins her on her mission of resistance to free their people from exploitative regime of Naidu brothers.Antagonists—Kundhul Naidu and Kaastala Naidu, played by Chaitanya Rao Madadi and Ravindra Vijay respectively—are the leaders of the crime syndicate that victimized g
The film’s visual world includes rough-terrain chases, night raiding parties, tribespeople’s day-to-day worlds, action set-pieces, and intense emotional showdowns that mix social commentary and big-screen scope.
Theatre Run & Reception: Mixed Reviews & Box Office Performance
When Ghaati was released in theaters, it caused quite some stir, mostly due to Anushka starring in a mainstream female-led role. Credit was provided for her screen personality, intensity, and endeavors at a storyline with moral right. Reviews often though mentioned poorer scriptwork, patchy pacing, and directing that would sometimes not meet its aspiration level about its premise.
Financially, Ghaati performed poorly. Some reports place its domestic boxoffice collection in the ₹7 crore net range, on something in the vicinity of a ₹50 crore budget, which made recovery through theatrical alone difficult. Despite lackluster performances, the decent OTT deal with Prime Video is said to have cushioned likely losses.
Anushka’s Response & Social Media Break
Following reviews from theaters and critics on the movie, Anushka Shetty herself declared: she would take social media brief leave. She released an impassioned statement about departing “blue light to candle light” and hoping to get closer to her art as well as to the physical outside world without cyber chatter. Fans retweeted encouragingly, instructing her to take it easy and get back when she’s good to.
This temporary withdrawal is due to pressures artists face, especially in tense films that garner massive attention. It also conveys Anushka’s intention to rethink and perhaps make choices regarding projects more thoughtfully in the future.
Why OTT Release Matters for Ghaati
- Wider exposure & accessibility: All viewers did not watch it in theaters. Through streaming, Ghaati reaches rural markets, diaspora viewers, and viewers who did not watch earlier performances.
- Second chance at evaluation: Reception will evolve over time. At-home viewers will balance performance, material, and emotional effect in ways other than theatre.
- Revenue buffer: With revenue from solid OTT deals coming in at the front-end, pressure from box office yields diminishes.
- Language coverage: Multi-language streaming enhances viewerships—Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada.
- Relevance off the screen: Films like Ghaati that deal with social exploitation, rural conditions, and women’s liberation develop resonance over time on media that facilitate repeated viewing and discussion.
The shift from theaters to OTT on Prime Video (from September 26, 2025) is one such determining phase in its lifecycle. Although returns from theaters were not so successful, the streaming release gives it second winds—the opportunity to connect with viewers on their own turf, garner fresh appreciation, and potentially redefine its legacy.
Anushka Shetty’s performance is one solid anchor point, and for viewers who have not yet had it, it’s one chance to experience her in full-blooded, uncompromising style. Whether Ghaati cements cult status or winds up in footnote status in her filmography remains to be learned from how it will do on TV. One thing’s for certain, though: in this streaming platform era, one’s film’s impact doesn’t conclude once it leaves theaters—it begins anew on OTT.