Mark wrapped up: Kiccha Sudeep’s next with Max maker Vijay Kartikeyaa on course for Christmas release
Mark wrapped up: Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep had targeted an October finish to his film Mark and while they have exceeded that deadline by a couple of weeks, it’s still a very quick turnaround
Last Updated: 03.08 PM, Nov 13, 2025
When Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep announced in July this year that his next, which was later titled Mark, would be ready in time for Christmas, not many took him seriously. He had not even gone on floors with the film at the time. With the actor also juggling Bigg Boss Kannada hosting duties alongside, it was thought unlikely that he and his team would be able to pull it off. This is also why composer Arjun Janya’s debut directorial was announced as a Christmas release. Arjun, who considers Sudeep his mentor in the industry would not prep for a box office clash if he seriously believed that Mark would be ready in time for the last festival of the year.
Countdown to Mark release begins
At the limited public appearances Sudeep has made since then, he always reiterated his commitment to finishing the film on time and that he’d given himself an end of October deadline for the same. Well, he overshot the timeframe by a couple of weeks, but Sudeep has achieved what he set out to do. On November 13, the team of Mark announced that the shoot has been wrapped up. What’s also commendable is that while the shoot was still on, director Vijay Kartikeyaa’s team had already begun post-production, with dubbing work done parallelly.
With only a month and a half to go for the film’s release, rest assured there will be regular promotional updates in the coming weeks, especially since the team has not revealed anything about the story. Sudeep’s hairdo for the film, he’d said, is in keeping with the brute force that his character, Ajay Markanday is. Going by the fleeting glimpses that have been made available, it seems that the actor is in cop mode yet again.
The buzz in industry circles was that Sudeep and Vijay wanted to make a Max sequel, or prequel, as the case maybe, but with producer Thanu not involved and the probability of another collaboration unlikely, they had to rebrand the character. Arjun Mahakshay became Ajay Markanday and will now carry the franchise forward.
FAQs
Q. Who is directing Mark?
A. Mark, which began as Kiccha47, is directed by Vijay Kartikeyaa as his sophomore project after last year's Max with Kiccha Sudeep. The film will be in theatres for Christmas 2025.
Q. Is Billa Ranga Baashaa shelved?
A. No. Billa Ranga Baashaa is not shelved. It is on schedule break. Sudeep will resume shooting for it once he completes Kiccha47. Billa Ranga Baashaa will likely be his Christmas 2026 release.