to be released there, although Lucia (2013) was screened at film festivals and had no theatrical release in the country. Film festivals KGF was screened at the 11th Bangalore International Film Festival on 28 February 2019, where it received an award for the Best Picture in the Entertainment category, and was adjudged the most popular Kannada film by the jury members. Lawsuit On 20 December 2018, the 10th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Bengaluru had passed an interim stay before the film's release, following two petitions, filed by Venkatesh G, Yogesh and Ratan, citing plagiarism allegations, and also accusing the filmmakers of portraying Kolar's history in a poor light. However, the producer Kiragandur stated that the film will be released on the said date, and asked fans to avoid rumours. On 27 December 2018, the filmmakers issued a statement that the shows in Australia were cancelled due to an unauthorized screening, as the distributors of the film did not consult the producers of the original. Piracy On 18 December 2018, a few scenes from the film were leaked onto social networking sites, although Karthik Gowda, the executive producer, labeled it a rumour and clarified that the filmmakers have created a team to fight against online piracy. Despite preventative measures, pirated versions of the film were made available before its release. In May 2020, the producers sued a local television channel for premiering the film's Telugu version illegally. Home media The film's digital rights were sold to Amazon Prime Video for , and premiered on 5 February 2019, along with its dubbed versions. Colors Kannada bought the satellite rights for an undisclosed record price, and hosted its premiere on 30 March 2019. The Tamil version of the film was telecast through Colors Tamil on 7 April. Sony Pictures Networks acquired the satellite rights of the Hindi version. The film's Telugu version was premiered on Star Maa on 5 July 2020, and registered an average TRP rating of 11.9, with many citing the delay of the premiere for more than 18 months after the theatrical release date. The Malayalam version of the movie was jointly purchased by Asianet and Kairali TV. The movie premiered on Asianet and Kairali TV on 14 December 2020. Re-release The film was re-released in the United States to 35 locations on 31 January 2019, becoming the first Kannada film to be re-released in the country. On