Will Akhanda 2’s release troubles affect Challenging Star Darshan’s The Devil?
The release of Akhanda 2 was stayed on December 4 by the Madras High Court in a non-payment of dues case. The buzz is that the issue could be sorted with the release pushed to next week.
Dec 05, 2025
Will Akhanda 2 affect The Devil's solo release window
Early on December 4, there was a buzz that the release of Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Akhanda 2 had been stayed by the Madras High Court, with the makers apparently frantically trying to sort the issue before the paid premieres were set to kick off late at night. But with no solution in sight, the team was eventually forced to announce this setback and that a new release date would be announced shortly. On social media, there are reports that the film may hit theatres over the weekend, but industry sources suggest two scenarios.
Waiting for The Devil, watch Darshan in Kaatera and many other interesting Kannada films with OTTplay Premium.
Dec 12 or Sankranti 2026? What will NBK pick for Akhanda 2?
The film could either look at a week’s delay and release on December 12, 2025, or maybe shifted to the new year as a Sankranti release. If Akhanda 2 is, indeed, pushed ahead by a week, in Karnataka, it will affect Challenging Star Darshan’s The Devil, which is hitting theatres on December 11. Although there are other films like Karthi’s Vaa Vaathiyaar, among others, The Devil was, undoubtedly, the bigger release of the week. This equation will change if Akhanda 2 sticks to a 2025 release.
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However, it is also being heard that the Boyapati Sreenu film may join the already crowded Sankranti box office contenders, which includes Vijay’s Jana Nayagan, Prabhas’ Raja Saab, Sivakartikeyan’s Parasakthi, Naveen Polishetty’s Anaganaga Oka Raju, Ravi Teja’s Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi, apart from the Hindi players like Border 2 and Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos. Traditionally, the Sankranti festival is an open playing field for releases from other languages, especially Tamil and Telugu, given the importance of the festival.
But this time around, there’s a Kannada film also in the mix. Kiccha Sudeep’s nephew Sanchith’s debut film Mango Pachcha is meant to be in theatres on January 15. If the current list of competitors is not bad enough, adding Akhanda 2 will impact the screen/show allocation for everyone involved.
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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 the actor's absence, as he is currently in jail in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case.
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