45 the movie 2025: Release date, cast, crew, trailer, plot, budget, OTT; all you need to know about Arjun Janya’s debut directorial

45 the movie 2025: Kannada music composer Arjun Janya makes his directorial debut with the film, headlined by Century Star Shivarajkumar, Real Star Upendra and Raj B Shetty

Raj B Shetty in a still from 45

One of Kannada cinema’s most popular music composers, Arjun Janya, turns director with 45, a story that came to him after he lost his brother during the pandemic and faced health scares himself. In his quest to seek answers to existential questions, Arjun found the basic plot of what he then made as 45. He then cast Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty in the three main roles, with the Century Star completing some of his major portions during his cancer battle. Shivarajkumar had completed the film before heading to the US for surgery late last year.

Initially scheduled to release in theatres on August 15, the film’s theatrical outing was postponed owing to delays in completion of the VFX work. According to Arjun, 45 is a CGI-heavy film, and he was not willing to compromise on the quality of the output, and admits that there were several rounds of corrections on the output delivered to him. At the time, there were rumours that the film would be pushed to an early 2026 outing, but producer Ramesh Reddy said that certain business deals were contingent on a 2025 release.

Release date of 45

When Arjun and Ramesh eventually announced the new release date – December 25, 2025 – the first question they faced was why they were clashing with Kiccha Sudeep’s Mark. This was in late August and only a little over a month since Sudeep had gone on floors with his film. Arjun and Ramesh claimed they had no idea that Sudeep had announced the date, even though the latter had kickstarted the shoot with that deadline in sight. The assumption is that the team of 45 did not think that Sudeep and co could pull it off in that short span, but they did.

Only the Kannada version of 45 will hit theatres on December 25; the other language versions will be on January 1, 2026.

Cast and crew of 45

The cast is led by Shivarajkumar, Raj B Shetty and Upendra, but as per the trailer, Arunachalam Rajendran, Jaffer Sadiq and Pramod Shetty are also on the cast, while Kousthubha Mani is paired with Raj. Although not revealed in the trailer, Sudharani also has a pivotal role in the film.

As for the crew, Arjun fills in as writer, director, music composer, while Satya Hegde is credited with cinematography. Ravi Varma, Jolly Bastian, Different Danny, and Chethan D’Souza handled the stunts; while dance sequences were choreographed by Chinni Prakash and B Dhananjay. Visual effects, which form a major chunk of 45, were done by Canada-based Marz Studio.

Also read: Arjun Janya wrote the beginning and end of 45 while heading for his brother’s asthi visarjan

Trailer, plot, censor certification, run-time of 45

45 has been censored U/A, with the actual run-time only 2 hours and 16 minutes, excluding start and end credits. The film’s trailer was released on December 15 and did not reveal much about the plot, but rather the scale that 45 has been mounted on. It also introduced audiences to the characters played by Jaffer and Pramod, but, yet again, with no further details. In comparison, the earlier teaser revealed more about the plot.

As per the teaser, the central conflict of the film revolves around Raj, with Shivarajkumar as protector and Upendra as destroyer. In media interactions, Arjun had said that the seed idea of the film came to him after his brother passed away and added that the film is steeped in Sanatana Dharma tenets. This had led to speculation that 45 is about the 45 days following a person’s death, a time in which it is decided if the soul moves on to the afterlife or is reborn.

It is assumed that Raj’s character dies, but has unfinished business on earth, with Shivarajkumar assisting him with it, while Upendra is out to ‘get him’.

Budget and satellite and OTT partner of 45

Although the team has not divulged details about the budget of 45, it is estimated that the film was made at close to Rs 60 cr. Zee Network has picked up both the satellite and OTT streaming rights of the film. The film is expected to drop on Zee5 in late January 2026, closer to Republic Day.

45 the movie FAQs

Q. What happened to Arjun Janya?

A. Kannada music composer Arjun Janya suffered a massive heart attack during the Covid-19 pandemic, but has since made a remarkable recovery.

Q. What is the inspiration behind Arjun Janya's directorial debut, 45?

A. Arjun Janya lost his brother during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is the inspiration behind the story of 45. According to reports, the film revolves around the 45 days after a person's death, which, as per Sanatana Dharma, is when it is decided if the soul moves to the after life or gets reborn.

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