Adipurush in Kannada: The big-scale release of the dubbed version was a calculated gamble, says Karthik Gowda

Kannada dubbing of films from other languages has been a contentious issue in Sandalwood for long. After years of an unwritten rule banning dubbing in Kannada, more recently, the floodgates have been opened, fuelled largely owing to the pan-India release phenomenon. However, every time a big film from, say, Telugu, Tamil or Hindi would release with a Kannada version also part of the plan, more often than not, the latter would be relegated to a few obscure shows in some corners of the state, and those would not draw footfalls. For instance, when RRR was being released in Karnataka, even though the lead actors, Ram Charan and Jr NTR, had dubbed in their own voices for the Kannada version, there were no takers – both exhibitors and audiences.

When Karthik Gowda of KRG Studios recently took on the responsibility of releasing the film in Karnataka, the immediate response on social media was calls urging him to do justice to Kannada and give the dubbed version ample shows/screens. While the advance booking for the Kannada version began like a trickle with only 3 shows, on the eve of the film’s release, he was able to allot a whopping 146 screens to it. “100% that was a risk that we at KRG Studios took. See, last year, when we released Gargi, considering that Sai Pallavi had taken personal interest and effort in getting the dubbing done and promoting it, I thought if we don’t give Kannada version a good release it won’t be fair. For the scale that Gargi had and the content it had, it did well with decent numbers. I have always been clear that if and when I distribute a big film, I will do the needful as far as a Kannada dubbed release goes,” he says, adding, “I needed a film to show what I can do and I got that with Adipurush.”

Read also: Adipurush in Kannada: Prabhas’ film grosses just under Rs 2 crore in first weekend 

Karthik reminisces that when Pushpa and Vikram had released there was a lot of hue and cry. “Even though Dhananjaya was in Pushpa, it got only two shows in the Kannada version. I have always maintained that dubbing in Kannada has be a team effort – the producer, distributor and exhibitors have to be on the same page about it. With Adipurush, I also faced exhibitors who did not want to take the Kannada version. I took the risk and said that we will see how the Kannada version fares on day 1 and day 2 and if people don’t turn up for it, then I have no other go and replace it with the Telugu version because I have a business to run. Honestly, I don’t know if it is because Adipurush is based on the Ramayana, but Kannada audiences showed great interest in the dubbed version. If I look at the box office numbers for the Kannada version from single-screen theatres, it is much more than what the Telugu version is bringing in from similar movie halls in Karnataka. That’s a good sign. The Kannada version of Adipurush is, no doubt, doing well,” says Karthik.