The first Kannada film that released in 2016 was Shivarajkumar's Killing Veerappan directed by Ram Gopal Verma. In 2017 it will become a trend with another Shivarajkumar film becoming the first Kannada film to release. Srikanta is releasing in the first week of January.

2016 saw the release of the highest number of Kannada films ever. What will 2017 bring with Shivanna leading the way. Only time will tell. Srikanta is directed by Manju Swaraj.