R Chandru: Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar was most supportive of Kabzaa; releasing it on his birthday is my gift to him

This year, March 17 is going to be about Kannada filmmaker R Chandru’s Kabzaa. The film, which has Upendra in the lead as a gangster who ruled over India in the 60s, all the way to the 80s, is Chandru’s attempt at telling a story with the same kind of production values as Sandalwood’s biggest hit to date, KGF. The filmmaker has been candid about the fact that he’s been inspired by Prashant Neel’s vision and remains unfazed by the criticism that came his way in the aftermath of the film’s first teaser in September last year, when netizens dubbed Kabzaa a poor copy of KGF.

Chandru is now ready to present his film to the world and is embarking on an all-India promotional tour for the same, starting with the first song launch in Hyderabad on February 4. Before taking off to Hyderabad, the filmmaker addressed the media in Bengaluru, during which he spoke about why he decided to release Kabzaa on March 17, a day that was widely considered as earmarked for Puneeth Rajkumar film re-releases on his birth anniversary.

Talking about the late Power Star, who was fondly known as Appu, Chandru said, “Releasing Kabzaa on Appu sir’s birth anniversary is a blessing for the entire cast and crew of the film. He would often come to the set and express his amazement at what we were trying to achieve. Yet, at the same time, he realized I was investing a lot of money and effort in the film and would ask me to be careful and think of the future of my children too. For the people of Karnataka, Appu sir is like god and I believe that bringing Kabzaa to theatres on his birthday is my gift to him. The whole team is very proud that the film is releasing on March 17.”