Actor Sathish Ninasam’s most ambitious project to date, The Rise of Ashoka, was in production when the director, Vinod V Dhondale passed away. The project remained in limbo for a while, until its editor, Manu Shedgar stepped in to help wrap up the rest. Sathish marketed the film as a commercial entertainer, even though the basic premise leaned heavily on generational socio-cultural, economic and religious oppression. The film, which paired Sathish with Sapthami Gowda, released in theatres in late February and did not work at the box office, registering Rs 1.24 cr gross only (as per sacnilk.com).
The Rise of Ashoka has now managed to find a streaming partner. Sun NXT has acquired the digital streaming rights and will make the film available on June 5, 2026. This, interestingly, is the same day on which Dhruva Sarja’s KD The Devil hits OTT. Also vying for audience attention on June 5 are films like Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2 Revenge and Mammootty-Mohanlal’s Patriot.
| Title | The Rise of Ashoka |
|---|---|
| Director | (late) Vinod Dhondale |
| Cast | Sathish Ninasam, B Suresha, Sapthami Gowda, Sampath Maithreya |
| Streaming platform | Sun NXT |
| Streaming date | June 5, 2026 |
The Rise of Ashoka, which also stars Sampath Maithreya, B Suresha, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Yash Shetty, P Ravishankar, among others, is set in the 70s, in a fictional town where hair is the most precious commodity. Chief antagonist Kutty Babji (Sampath), holds the tender to operate the tonsuring unit attached to a local temple, an operation that he conducts with an iron hand. Any misappropriation is dealt with extreme violence, sometimes even death.
Ashoka (Sathish), belongs to the barber community, but his father, Gangaraju (Suresha), keeps him away from the ‘family trade’ in the hope that the graduate son will get a government job and lead them out if this misery. But can Ashoka remain immune to Babji’s atrocities and focus on his job hunt?
