Kranti predictions: Darshan’s film will be a hit; but extent of success will depend on content

It’s the final countdown. Challenging Star Darshan’s Kranti is only a week away from hitting theatres. The actor’s fans, of course, are thrilled to bits and waiting for word on the earliest available show to catch Darshan in action. Social media has been abuzz with requests for midnight shows or early morning shows for fan celebration of Kranti to begin. The producers – Shylaja Nag and B Suresha – have not confirmed this yet, but have said that online advance booking will open over the weekend for the January 26 release.

The film is Darshan’s first release since 2021’s Roberrt and comes with a lot of expectations, especially given that the actor is riding on the support of social media influencers only for the promotions of Kranti. The actor was banned by mainstream media after an audio clip of him abusing them with the choicest expletives was made public. In fact, at the very first Kranti press meet, barring a few print media journalists, not a single TV channel was present. A second event on the same day had over a 100 YouTube influencers in attendance. Kranti’s box office performance, in that sense, will be a show of his stardom, which, in turn, will have the Kannada film industry re-examining if media support is necessary for promotions. After all, publicity by any channel worth its salt is not free and comes at a premium.

But what are the expectations of the film, now that four songs and the trailer are out? Industry insiders say that fans will ensure good business in the first few days, after which, though, it will depend on positive word of mouth publicity. This, they reckon, is because the trailer did not offer anything special and felt like a regular commercial film.