# O2 (2024 film)
**O2** (ಓ2) is a 2024 Indian Kannada-language medical thriller film directed by Raghav Nayak and Prashanth Raj and produced by Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar under PRK Productions. It stars Ashika Ranganath as Dr Shraddha Nayak, a doctor researching an intravenous drug, called O2, that could revive clinically dead patients.[1](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/o2-858244.html) The film was the last script that the actor-producer [Puneeth Rajkumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/puneeth-rajkumar) approved before his death, and it was the final film of the stock from his banner PRK Productions.[2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Language and genre | Kannada medical thriller with science fiction and romance elements[1](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/o2-858244.html) |
| Directors | Raghav Nayak and Prashanth Raj, in their directorial debut[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/kannada/news/2022/Jan/11/o2-shoot-to-resume-on-january-22-28930.html) |
| Producer | Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, PRK Productions[1](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/o2-858244.html) |
| Release | Theatrical 19 April 2024; streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 31 May 2024[4](https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/movies/ashika-ranganath-o2/ott.html) |
| Runtime and certification | 109 minutes; certified U by the CBFC on 23 February 2024[5](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/o2-2024/) |
| Lead cast | Ashika Ranganath, Praveen Tej, Raghav Nayak, Prakash Belawadi, Siri Ravikumar, Puneeth B A[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15427934/) |
| Reception | IMDb 6.6/10 from about 8,500 votes; critic ratings of 3/5 (Cinema Express, The South First, Times of India) and 2/5 (OTTplay)[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15427934/) • [7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills) • [8](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/o2-kannada-movie-review-ashika-ranganaths-medical-thriller-romantic-drama-is-middling-at-best/5ddaf8b311277) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film centers on Dr Shraddha Nayak (Ashika Ranganath), a physician with an MD in [Anesthesiology](https://www.edgepedia.org/anesthesiology) who is regarded as a prodigy. She conducts research on a drug injection known as O2, which is said to revive the dead, and works to persuade authorities to let her test the research on living people.[2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/) Alongside three other doctors, Shrushti (Siri [Ravikumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ravikumar)), Dev (Praveen Tej), and Venky (Puneeth B A), she carries out the research despite opposition from a senior doctor ([Prakash Belawadi](https://www.edgepedia.org/prakash-belawadi)); the team proceeds to experiment on a patient, and the first attempt fails.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills)
**Personal threads.** Shraddha carries her own medical history: she fears conveying death to family members because of childhood trauma surrounding her father's untimely demise, and she has been on medication for depression since then.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills) A romantic track runs through the story through Osho (Raghav Nayak), a radio host and aspiring musician who falls in love with Shraddha, whom he fondly calls "Emergency", while Dev helps her with her studies.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills) • [2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/) The narrative ends openly, after Shraddha discovers certain truths about her connections with Osho and Dev.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills)
## Production
O2 was the directorial debut of Raghav Nayak and Prashanth Raj, who also wrote the story, screenplay, and dialogue.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/kannada/news/2022/Jan/11/o2-shoot-to-resume-on-january-22-28930.html) • [5](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/o2-2024/) Filming had begun earlier and resumed on January 22, 2022.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/kannada/news/2022/Jan/11/o2-shoot-to-resume-on-january-22-28930.html) The film holds particular significance for PRK Productions: it was the last story that Puneeth Rajkumar heard and approved together with his wife Ashwini before his death, and the last film of the stock from the banner.[2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/) • [9](https://kannada.mojo-360.com/prk-flm-o2-releasing-on-april-nineteenth/) Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, who took over production responsibilities after his death, said the film was delayed for various reasons but had turned out better than expected.[9](https://kannada.mojo-360.com/prk-flm-o2-releasing-on-april-nineteenth/)
**Crew.** The music was composed by Vivan Radhakrishna, with lyrics by Jayanth Kaikini; Naveen Kumar S handled cinematography and Deepu S Kumar edited the film.[10](https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/o2-kannada-movie-review/) • [5](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/o2-2024/) The film was distributed by KRG Studios, and the [Central Board of Film Certification](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-board-of-film-certification) cleared it with a U certificate on 23 February 2024 at a length of 109.25 minutes.[5](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/o2-2024/)
## Release
O2 was released in theaters on 19 April 2024.[4](https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/movies/ashika-ranganath-o2/ott.html) It began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 31 May 2024.[4](https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/movies/ashika-ranganath-o2/ott.html)
## Reception
**Critical response.** Reviews were mixed to positive. The Cinema Express review gave 3/5 and called it an experimental film that aims to introduce a rare genre for [Kannada cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/kannada-cinema) combining medical, love, and content-oriented themes, while noting that the straightforward narrative makes it predictable and somewhat kills the suspense; it praised Ashika Ranganath as "the heart and soul" of the film in a refreshingly new role.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills) The South First also rated it 3/5, describing it as a well-written medical thriller whose makers neatly wove in details so that medical terms and procedures do not seem complicated to the audience.[10](https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/o2-kannada-movie-review/) The Times of India gave a critic's rating of 3.0, calling Ashika Ranganath the hero of the film with one of her career-best performances.[11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movie-details/o2/amp_movieshow/109343490.cms) KannadaScreens judged it a tale unexplored in Kannada cinema with a tight screenplay, but noted that the makers packed the plot with science and information while emotions were lacking.[2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/) OTTplay was more critical, rating it 2/5 and questioning plausibility points such as an anesthesiologist heading critical care research on reviving clinically dead patients.[8](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/o2-kannada-movie-review-ashika-ranganaths-medical-thriller-romantic-drama-is-middling-at-best/5ddaf8b311277) The review aggregator filmi.ai computed a Filmi Score of 62 from four critic reviews.[12](https://filmi.ai/film/o2-2024/)
**Audience response.** On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.6/10 from about 8,500 votes.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15427934/) On BookMyShow it carried a user rating of 9.2/10 from more than 600 votes, with the most common review tags being #SuperDirection, #AwesomeStory, and #GreatActing.[13](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/nagaon/o2-2024/ET00391747/user-reviews)
## Place in Kannada cinema
Reviewers repeatedly framed O2 as an unusual entry for its industry. KannadaScreens called its content fresh and unexplored in Kannada cinema,[2](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/) and The South First observed that medical thrillers had not hit Kannada screens in recent times, crediting PRK Productions for backing new filmmakers and different ideas.[10](https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/o2-kannada-movie-review/) The Cinema Express review noted that the directors explore themes of astral travel alongside the medical plot, which it found unique.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills)
## References
1. [O2 Movie (2024) – Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Songs, Streaming Online at Prime Video, Digit Binge](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/o2-858244.html)
2. [Review: 'O2' is a tale unexplored in Kannada cinema, KannadaScreens (19 April 2024)](https://kannadascreens.com/2024/04/19/review-o2-is-fresh-and-unexplored-in-kannada-cinema/)
3. [O2 shoot to resume on January 22, The New Indian Express (11 January 2022)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/kannada/news/2022/Jan/11/o2-shoot-to-resume-on-january-22-28930.html)
4. [O2 OTT Release Date: Streaming Platform, Satellite Rights, FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/movies/ashika-ranganath-o2/ott.html)
5. [O2 – ಓ೨ (2024/೨೦೨೪), Kannada Movies Info (19 April 2024)](https://kannadamoviesinfo.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/o2-2024/)
6. [O2 (2024), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15427934/)
7. [O2 Movie Review: An experimental film with uneven thrills, Cinema Express (20 April 2024)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Apr/20/o2-movie-review-an-experimental-film-with-uneven-thrills)
8. [O2 Kannada movie review: Ashika Ranganath's medical thriller-romantic drama is middling at best, OTTplay (23 April 2024)](https://www.ottplay.com/amp/review/o2-kannada-movie-review-ashika-ranganaths-medical-thriller-romantic-drama-is-middling-at-best/5ddaf8b311277)
9. [ಇದೇ ಏಪ್ರಿಲ್ 19ಕ್ಕೆ 'O2' ತೆರೆಗೆ | ಅಪ್ಪು ಕೇಳಿ ಮೆಚ್ಚಿದ್ದ ಕೊನೆಯ ಕಥೆ, Kannada mojo360 (8 April 2024)](https://kannada.mojo-360.com/prk-flm-o2-releasing-on-april-nineteenth/)
10. [O2 review: A well-written medical thriller that's effectively translated onto the screen, The South First (19 April 2024)](https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/o2-kannada-movie-review/)
11. [O2 Movie: Showtimes, Review, Songs, Trailer, Posters, News & Videos, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movie-details/o2/amp_movieshow/109343490.cms)
12. [O2 (2024), filmi.ai](https://filmi.ai/film/o2-2024/)
13. [O2 (2024) User Reviews & Ratings in India, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/nagaon/o2-2024/ET00391747/user-reviews)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Kannada films of the 2020s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license