The Devil director Prakash Veer: Darshan completing the film despite his back issues is the biggest gift

Challenging Star Darshan was in the midst of shooting for The Devil when he was arrested. Upon his release on bail months later, he quickly wrapped it up

Darshan in a still from the song Alohomora from The Devil

In June 2024, when Challenging Star Darshan was arrested in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, his ongoing film, The Devil, was only about 30% done. It was almost 5 months later that he was eventually granted bail, first on medical grounds and then the regular one. It was another 4 months later that he eventually returned to the set of the Prakash Veer directorial. But once back, the actor worked at break-neck speed to complete the project, despite the discomfort he was in because of severe back pain.

By the end of July, Darshan had not only completed the shoot, but had also dubbed for his portions, which in hindsight was a good decision, given that only weeks later the Supreme Court cancelled his bail and sent him right back to jail pending trial. The film is now being released in the actor’s absence, a situation that the team would have loved to prevent, but cannot, owing to business interests.

Darshan wanted to release The Devil in October

The Devil was, after all, meant to be a 2024 December release and the 9 months that Darshan was not available had already cost the makers much. Given that there’s no timeline on when the actor will be released on bail again, or the trial ends and a verdict comes in favour of him, the team could not afford to wait for his return. In fact, Darshan told Prakash, who has also produced the film, to release it in October, but post-production delays pushed it to December.

Also read: Darshan Thoogudeepa’s The Devil release advanced to appease actor’s ‘celebrities’

With the film only days away from its release, the team recently addressed the media about the theatrical set up and more and how saddened they were about doing all this in Darshan’s absence. Prakash adds that the fact that Darshan completed the film despite his niggling back problem is the biggest gift he could get. The actor, who’d got medical bail to sort out his back issues, maybe even with surgery, chose to seek alternate treatment options and was loaded up on painkillers every time he was on set.

Also read: The Devil: Darshan to be seen in more than 1 role? Director clarifies…

Prakash says that Darshan was worried about how long he’d need to be on bed rest if he were to opt for surgery and how that would affect the film further. The actor’s sole focus was on finishing the film at the earliest, given that there was already a long delay on his account.

The Devil FAQs

Q. What was Darshan Thoogudeepa's last release?

A. Darshan Thoogudeepa was last seen onscreen in 2023's Kaatera , which is available on Z5 (via OTTplay Premium also).

Q. What is Darshan's next film?

A. Darshan's next is The Devil, which has him reuniting with Tarak maker Prakash Veer. The film had been announced as a December 12, 2025 release, but has now been advanced by a day. The film is being released in thhe actor's absence, as he is currently in jail in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case.

Share