PremiumAgnyathavasi producer Hemanth M Rao: I will not blame audiences for not coming to theatres
Agnyathavasi producer Hemanth M Rao says that if audiences are convinced that a film team values the time and effort put into going to a theatre, they will turn up to watch the movie.
Last Updated: 09.20 PM, Apr 08, 2025
In the first three months of 2025, 70-odd Kannada films released in theatres, most of which were complete washouts and did not ring any bells for audiences. A majority of these films did not even bother with basic promotions to let people know that they’d be in theatres at a given point in time. Amid this deluge of Kannada films, a handful, like Choo Mantar, Nodidavaru Enantare, Nimma Vasthugalige Neeve Javaadbdaararu, etc., hooked critics and won some love from audiences, but the overwhelming truth remains that Sandalwood has been in a dire slump, much like the beginning of 2024, a streak that was broken only in August when Duniya Vijay’s sophomore directorial after the successful Salaga, Bheema came out .
At a time like this, filmmaker Hemanth M Rao is set to bring his latest production venture, and first under his re-branded home banner, Dakshayini Talkies – Agnyathavasi – is coming to theatres. He’s held on to the film for as long as he could, waiting patiently for market corrections to come in, meaning that he was able to sell the post-theatrical rights of Agnyathavasi before the theatrical release. Zee Network picked up the film both for TV and OTT and will likely do a simultaneous release as it did for Kiccha Sudeep’s Max and Venkatesh’s Sankrantiki Vasthunam (watch here) .
Hemanth firmly believes that good content will draw people to theatres and that Agnyathavasi, directed by Gultoo fame Janardan Chikkanna , has that pulling power. He also does not blame them for having shunned most of the films that came out this year.
Hemanth M Rao not surprised that people are not coming to theatres
“You won’t feel like watching many of these films just by looking at their posters, teasers or trailers or, hearing the title. Even if you were to show these films for free to audiences in their homes, they would not watch them. I am not surprised that people have not come to theatres to watch these films. A film’s content and promotion should reflect the value that it puts on the time and effort audiences put into coming to theatres,” Hemanth told GaS Filmy Cult.
Agnyathavasi is a murder mystery set in the late 90s in a quaint village in Malnad, where crime was so rare that the local police officials were not equipped to handle or investigate anything grievous. When a murder is uncovered in such a place, how the cop, played by Cyanide fame Rangayana Raghu , gets to the bottom of it, forms the crux of the narrative.