Perhaps, taking leaf out of Bollywood, Kannada cinema is also set for some experimentation with multi-star cast films.

This release of 'Hudugaru' will be a test run for others in the queue. Puneeth Rajakumar, Srinagar Kitty, Yogish, Radhika Pandit being in the cast, 'Hudugaru' is the film with high expectations in the industry. Industry watchers say a dwindling audience of Kannada films is the main reason for the multi-starrer trend.

Some of the multi-starrers that will follow this year are 'Happy' with V Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Vijay Raghavendra, 'Varadayanaya' with Sudeep and Chiranjeevi Sarja, 'Rajadhani' with Yash, Sathya, Chetan Chandra, Ravi Teja, 'Kettavanu' with Nenapirali Prem and Srinagara Kitty, 'Khadimaru' with Deepak and Ajith, 'Vinayaka Geleyara Balaga' with Naveen Krishna, Vijay Raghavendra and 'Thriller Manju' with five heroes. Multi starrers add to the budget of the movie only marginally. Top stars average between 30 to 50 percent of the film's budget.