Cheap Song from UI: Full video of costliest number from Upendra’s film out; sparks OTT debut speculation

One of the most anticipated films of 2024 was, undoubtedly, Real Star Upendra’s return to direction after nearly a decade, UI. The film released in theatres on December 20, and had a good opening amid mixed reviews, but then suffered severely after Kiccha Sudeep’s Max came out. Eventually, the verdict was that UI was a box office failure, which, in turn affected its satellite and digital sales. UI only managed a TV deal and has not made it to streaming to date. But is that about to change?

Is the Cheap Song a prelude to the OTT outing or Upendra's next directorial announcement?

Earlier today, the team of UI released the full version of one of the most talked about songs from the film – the Cheap Song. This, according to them, was the most expensive song from the film, which, Upendra had written, Ajaneesh Loknath had composed and had been sung by Vijay Prakash, Nakash Aziz and Deepak Blue. Was the full video meant to create excitement about the film again? That’s the question netizens had after the song dropped.

In recent days, though, there’s also been buzz that Upendra is set to announce his next directorial and a few fans speculated that the timing of the song release could be as a prelude to the big announcement. Perhaps, Upendra is set to do UI-2, they reckoned. The Cheap Song was one of the most anticipated from the film and now that the full version is out, fans are happy to catch the fun and meaningful number.

Also read: UI movie review: Upendra goes into preacher mode overdrive in film that falls short on entertainment 

UI was said to have made been made at a budget close to Rs 60 crore, with trackers estimating that it made Rs 40 cr worldwide gross only during its theatrical run. The narrative that the team had put out was that UI was meant for intellectual audiences, who’d be able to understand the multiple layers in the narrative. But eventually, it became clear that the film was quite straightforward with a lot of spoon-feeding from Upendra.

FAQs

Q. Where can one watch Upendra's directorial UI?

A. UI is currently not available anywhere. The film had failed to strike an OTT deal after its theatrical release. 

Q. What is Upendra's next release?

A. Upendra, who was last seen in a cameo in Rajinikanth's Coolie, is one of three leading men in composer Arjun Janya's debut directorial 45, which also stars Shivarajkumar and Raj B Shetty. The film will be in theatres on December 25, 2025.