Mark’s Kiccha Sudeep: Vikrant Rona did not do as well as expected; I still love the film, but I learnt that…

Vikrant Rona was an ambitious film that Kiccha Sudeep made during the pandemic. There are conflicting reports about the film not having recovered investment, while a few claim it did phenomenally well. And while actor Sudeep, who co-produced it, has never dwelt on the numbers that the film did at the box office, he has admitted that it did not perform as well as he and his team expected.

Max and Mark are not reactions to Vikrant Rona: Sudeep

The Kannada superstar is currently promoting his next, Mark, which releases in theatres on December 25, his second consecutive Christmas outing, during which he was asked if the response to Vikrant Rona was an eye-opener for him. Speaking on Sudhir Srinivasasan’s podcast, Sudeep said that, ideally, there shouldn’t be any learnings from Vikrant Rona, because it is a film that the team wholeheartedly wanted to make.

“We have gone right or wrong, on the day we decided on the script; not in the making. I still love Vikrant Rona. We have made it exactly the way we wanted. There was no compromise at all. So, today, if you were to pin-point that it was not well-received because of certain elements, I don’t think we can, because we love the film,” said Sudeep, adding that irrespective of the box office outcome, the next step is to do another film.

Also read: Kiccha Sudeep hints at retirement: ‘Every hero has a shelf life…’ 

Having said that, Sudeep is quick to add that his next two films, Max and Mark are not reactions to the outcome of Vikrant Rona. “Yes, it didn’t do to the level that we expected, but that’s okay; we’ll make another film. Max and Mark are not reactions to that film. This was well planned. During Vikrant Rona I used to say that my next film would be strictly for fans. It was a very deliberate attempt to make a film of this sort, deliver it faster and simpler,” said the actor, who has managed to wrap up Mark in only 4 months to stick to the Christmas release plan.

In a sense, that is the only learning that he’s had from Vikrant Rona – to not make big films as exclusive affairs and, instead, do the smaller, simpler movies in between. “When you dream of making a film on that level (like Vikrant Rona) there is a huge investment of time, so you to forget about being associated with releases or with the market for a very long time. The learning is that I will make simpler films, but at the same time, I will be part of big films whenever they come,” said Sudeep, who began working on Mark during a schedule break of his next big film, Billa Ranga Baashaa and then went on to focus completely on it, to ensure he has one release a year.

Also read: Exclusive! Kiccha Sudeep: A star is a good attention grabber, but to get people to theatres, they need a better reason 

While the actor is expected to return to the set of Billa Ranga Baashaa soon, he has okayed other scripts, which may take off simultaneously. Sudeep has, reportedly, greenlit a romantic drama, a genre he hasn’t attempted in a while.

Mark the movie FAQs

Q. Is Mark the Max sequel?

A. There have been rumours that director Vijay Kartikeyaa rebranded the script for Max 2 as Mark, but the filmmaker has negated this, stating that the nuances of the character in Mark are very different from Max's Arjun Mahakshay.

Q. Who all are on the vast cast of Mark?

A. Mark stars Kiccha Sudeep, Guru Somasundaram, Naveen Chandra, Vikranth, Yogi Babu, Shine Tom Chacko, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Mahantesh Hiremath, Dragon Manju, Roshni Prakash, Archana Kottige, Deepshika, among others.

Q. Where can one watch Mark?

A. Mark is set for theatrical release on December 25, 2025. There is no update on the film's OTT partner and tentative streaming date yet