Kranti: Could the four dubbed versions of Darshan-starrer drop straight on OTT?

Team Kranti has cleared yet another checkpoint on its road to the grand theatrical release. The trailer of the film was launched amid tremendous fanfare and anticipation on January 7th in Bengaluru along with special theatrical screenings in several other cities and towns of Karnataka. 

With the trailer release now out of the way, the team, led by Darshan, director V. Harikrishna and producers Shylaja Nag & B. Suresha, looks firmly focused on January 26th, which marks the release date of Kranti.

Although the film is a bona fide Kannada release, the makers are also dubbing and releasing it in four other Indian languages of Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. The core team has been reluctant to wholeheartedly term Kranti as a 'pan-India' film and in the same vein, one also seeks more clarity on the release strategy concerning the dubbed versions.

Addressing this topic at the press-meet following the trailer launch, producer Shylaja Nag said, "Both Darshan sir and I have maintained since the very beginning that our main focus is to release Kranti as a Kannada film, although we are dubbing it in 4 other languages. None of us is confused about the approach. As far as the theatrical setup is concerned, I think that subject becomes slightly irrelevant because we are talking about a Darshan film here. Fans will undoubtedly throng the theatres and I say this with respect to the exhibitors, and once the business comes into the picture after the release, we will take appropriate decisions along the way. And as far as the dubbed languages are concerned, we will shortly share an update regarding the release strategy. When the dubbed versions will be out and their form of release, whether they will come out on OTT straight or release theatrically first - this is a business decision and we will let you all know shorty."

Quite indeed, both Darshan and the producers have asserted time and again that they see Kranti as a Kannada film and not a regular pan-India export. In his recent exclusive chat with OTTplay, the Challenging Star was forthright in saying that he doesn't believe in the whole 'pan-India' concept, adding that the issue that Kranti addresses could only be relevant to the people of Karnataka.

The original Kannada version of Kranti is expected to drop on Amazon Prime Video in the second or third week of March, 2023.