45 movie release: VFX works to be completed only by mid-October; film to be delayed further

If everything had gone as per plan, then composer-turned-filmmaker Arjun Janya’s directorial debut 45, starring Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty, would have been in theatres over the Independence Day long weekend. But that was not to be and the team did not offer an explanation or an alternate date at the time. The buzz in industry circles, though, was that the film was likely being postponed all the way to early 2026 as there was significant delay in the completion of the VFX works, which are being done in Canada. A source from the film team, though, had maintained that 45 will still be a 2025 theatrical release.

But if the latest is anything to go, it seems that the buzz about 2026 may just be right after all. A little while ago, the official social media handle of producer Ramesh Reddy’s banner posted a video featuring Yash Gowda of Marz VFX, which is handling the graphics work. According to him, the reason the film did not meet its August 15 release date is entirely due to the non-completion of VFX work, which, he hopes to finish latest by September 16, with a further one-month buffer in case the September deadline is not met.

45 moving to 2026 after all?

By that calculation, if all the post-production on 45 is completed only by mid-October, the team will need at least another month or month and a half on promotions, given that it is being released as a pan-India project in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. As of now, the next big Kannada release is Kantara Chapter 1 on October 2, which will, most likely be followed by Darshan’s The Devil in time for Kannada Rajyotsava.

Also read: 45 release date: Arjun Janya’s debut directorial to move to 2026? 

While KD The Devil is also on the lookout for a clear release window, early December has a bunch of big-ticket films in Hindi and Telugu in theatres. And then, January 2026 is all about Vijay’s Jana Nayagan. Ramesh Reddy is clear that he wants a big release for his film and that he’s not keen on clashing with too many other major titles.

After the release and success of Su From So, which is a Raj production that he also acted in, as well as Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which had a powerful cameo by Upendra that grabbed eyeballs, netizens opined that it would be a good time to release 45, to capitalize on the actors’ current popularity across borders. That looks unlikely though with the current state of affairs.

FAQs

Q. Who is on the cast of 45 the movie?

A. 45 the movie brings together Shivarajkumar, Upendra and Raj B Shetty. It is the directorail debut of composer Arjun Janya.

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.