Kranti: Rest of India and overseas release of Darshan starrer yet to be finalized

The mega success of Kannada films in the global market last year has proven that the overseas market is just as important as the domestic one. This is also why pretty much every film team worth its salt plans its release strategy in such a way that the overseas market sees a simultaneous theatrical outing. Delayed releases are a thing of the past. Yet that is the strategy that for reasons best known to them, the team of Kranti has adopted.

As the film gears up for its January 26 release in Karnataka, the team is still in the process of finalizing distributors to take the Darshan starrer overseas. At the moment, only a deal for the European release, excluding the United Kingdom, has been fixed, with the film set to release a week later in early February. The US and other UAE releases are also expected to be in place soon. While fans have been trolling producer Shylaja Nag for her supposed lack of initiative in ensuring a simultaneous overseas release, industry insiders reckon that the delay could also be attributed to the fact that Kranti is in competition with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and the latter will hog a majority of the available screens. Team Kranti, they say, will watch out for the film’s performance in the local market, based on which business decisions on taking it pan-India, and abroad will be made. If Kranti is a hit here, it will give the team the boost required to enable a decent outing in the other markets, which will not be the case if the film does not do well here. Fans, however, feel that team Kranti should have released the Kannada version across the country, just as Hombale Films did with Kantara, for the benefit of the Kannadiga populace in those belts.

A day after advance booking was opened for Kranti, more than 1 lakh ticket sales were clocked on online platforms, accounting for a gross of Rs 2.6 crore approximately.