Kiccha Sudeep's Vikrant Rona online advance bookings to open on July 24

In only one week, Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep’s most anticipated fantasy-action-thriller Vikrant Rona is releasing in theatres. The Anup Bhandari directorial will get 3D and 2D outings in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Fans have been eagerly waiting for word on when advance bookings for the film will open and now we hear that July 24 is the D-Day.

As of last evening, advance booking for Vikrant Rona opened in one theatre, Sapthagiri, in Hyderabad, but nowhere else, which, a source from the team tells us will change over the weekend, once the list of single-screen theatres is finalized. Multiplex advance bookings may be delayed further as they figure out their schedules, number of shows, etc.

In Karnataka, Vikrant Rona producer Manjunath Gowda will handle the distribution of the film, and is expected to get a fairly good share of the 700-odd screens available in the state. The region-wise final screen count is yet to be announced by the team, but with Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films and PVR Cinemas handling the distribution in Kerala and the Hindi belt, respectively, the film is expected to get a decent number of screens. In the Hindi belt, there will be a three-way box-office clash between Vikrant Rona, Thank God and Ek Villain Returns. Meanwhile, the Telugu version of Vikrant Rona is being distributed by Cosmos Entertainment, while Zee Studios, which holds the satellite and digital rights of the film’s Kannada version, will handle the theatrical distribution in Tamil Nadu.

The makers have been targeting a wide-spread global release as well and had confirmed close to 1,200 screens world-wide across 30+ countries a week ago. This, they said, would increase, once the film is available in all 14 dubbed languages, including Arabic, German, Spanish, etc. There is an English version too, for which Sudeep has dubbed for himself.

Produced by Shalini and Manjunath Gowda for Shalini Artss and co-produced by Alankar Pandian of Invenio Origin, the Anup Bhandari directorial also stars Nirup Bhandari and Neetha Ashok in pivotal roles. Bollywood siren Jacqueline Fernandez will be seen in a special number, while it is rumoured that Milana Nagaraj has a brief cameo as Sudeep’s character Vikrant Rona’s late wife.

There’s also a rumour that the film as a Rangitaranga connect, given the sequence of Sudeep looking at a news clipping of an incident at Kamarottu Junction. Kamarottu is where the story of Rangitaranga unfolds. While Anup has not confirmed or denied this connect, it would make sense to revisit the director’s debut film before Vikrant Rona comes to theatres.