Kranti: Mera kutta mera galli mein sher hai, says Darshan; will not promote film anywhere but Karnataka

Ever since the first press conference of Challenging Star Darshan’s next release, Kranti, one of the major discussions to have come up was that unlike most of his colleagues from Kannada cinema, who have had pan-India releases, the actor will not travel the country to promote his film. Kranti, directed by V Harikrishna and produced by Shylaja Nag and B Suresha under their Studio Media House banner, was announced as a pan-India film with versions in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, when it was launched last year. However, when the first teaser came out, news spread that the content about an NRI returning to India to save a Kannada medium school is not pan-India material with industry insiders, fans and netizens wondering how the film team would justify releasing it in other languages.

Speaking at the film’s first press conference, which was boycotted by major television networks and media houses owing to an ongoing ban on the actor, Darshan clarified that will not promote his film anywhere but in Karnataka. “We have made a Kannada film. We did not think of it as a pan-India project. We will dub it in other languages and sell it to prospective buyers in those markets. We will not go anywhere to promote the film. I will, most definitely not go. I will promote it here, in Karnataka – Mera kutta mera galli mein sher hai; that’s enough for me,” he said, a statement that was received with wild applause by the social media influencers, who had been invited to the event. The actor added that the five songs of the film would be released at events across the state, with special focus on areas that he has not been to earlier, like Raichur, for instance.

Kranti, which is Darshan’s second collaboration with the makers after Yajamana, has been announced as a January 26, 2023 release. The film will take on Shah Rukh Khan’s much-anticipated Pathaan at the box office. In Karnataka, the news of a January release for Kranti has been widely appreciated, as the first month of the year and the Sankranti festival week were almost always reserved for big-ticket movies from Tamil and Telugu.