Kranti release: First list of theatres out; advance booking to begin shortly

Team Kranti’s got the green signal to bring their film to theatres. Director-composer V Harikrishna locked and loaded the final Dolby Atmos mix not long ago and the film’s been censored U/A. Producer Shylaja Nag’s also got a first list of theatres, which looks quite impressive. The actual number of shows, though, will be clear only when advance booking opens, which is expected over the weekend.

Although the film has been dubbed in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi,the focus, said Shylaja, would be on the Kannada original version. Speaking about the theatre set up during the film’s trailer launch, Shylaja had said that it is an irrelevant question for a Darshan film, as exhibitors and audiences will queue up for it. The team has not yet decided whether to release the other language versions in theatres, or whether to keep it ready for OTT only. A decision on this is expected in the coming days.

The film is expected to be in at least 350-400 screens across Karnataka, although this will depend on how Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film, Pathaan, which releases a day ahead on January 25, performs at the box office. So far, the Siddarth Anand directorial has been doing phenomenal business as far as advance bookings in Bengaluru go. Both films will count on positive word-of-mouth publicity to hold on to their screens over the Republic Day holiday weekend.

Kranti is Darshan’s second film with the same team, after 2019’s Yajamana. It has a massive ensemble cast, with names like V Ravichandran, Sampath Raj, Sumalatha Ambareesh, B Suresha, Achyuth Kumar, Giri Shivanna, Rachita Ram, Samyukta Hornad, Nimika Ratnakar, among others. Shylaja Nag and Harikrishna are expected to reunite again for a third venture with Darshan, after the Challenging Star completes two back-to-back films with Tharun Sudhir. One, the as-yet-untitled #D56 is already in production and pairs Darshan with action queen Malashree’s daughter Radhana Ram. It is being produced by Rockline Venkatesh.