Kranti: Education is so expensive now because 75% of the private schools are owned by politicians, says Darshan

Challenging Star Darshan’s Kranti is still well over two months away from its theatrical release, but the ‘Kranti wave’ has already begun, with the actor kick-starting promotions. At a time when mainstream media is still maintaining a distance from the actor (he’s banned because of an abusive voice clip), Kranti promotions are being spearheaded by digital media and social media influencers only. The first press briefing of the film last month, was boycotted by mainstream media, while the second leg with digital media had well over 150 people in attendance. Darshan, who has vowed to promote the film in Karnataka only, as he considers Kranti a Kannada film, is expected to speak to most of the digital media journalists in the coming days. In fact, following the press briefing, the buzz in industry circles was that Kranti would be a show of Darshan’s star power, as he’s dependent on publicity without the support of mainstream media.

The actor, of course, has taken it in his stride and going all out with promotions. A bunch of video interviews have already surfaced online, wherein Darshan has taken on private schools and highlighted the apathy towards government-run institutions, which is in keeping with the subject of Kranti. Speaking to the online news channel Karnataka TV, Darshan was discussing how taking a child through its school education alone is a multi-lakh venture, as against the few hundreds or thousands one would have paid back in his day. “That’s because 75% of the private schools are owned by politicians and they are not going to give you anything for free. There’s donation and then a fee for everything the child gets to do while on the school premises. Kranti has a good line about how a parent today is about ‘pay-a-rent’. You pay a rent for the child to get on to the school bus, sit in class, play at the grounds, eat at the canteen,” he said.

Kranti, which pairs Darshan with Rachita Ram, is his second film with director-composer V Harikrishna, after Yajamana. The film opens in theatres on January 26, 2023.