Rebel Star Ambareesh's cult-classic 'Antha' to release in theatres in revised format

The re-release concept has been quite in vogue and as a result, fans have had the pleasure of revisiting a number of popular films of the past on the big screen. The Telugu Film Industry has been leading from the front in this regard with films like Pokiri, Jalsa, Gharana Mogudu, Varsham and many others yielding positive results at the box office to prove the case. Rajinikanth's Baba and Sivaji, too, were recently re-released in theatres.

And joining this growing list is Rajendra Singh Babu's cult classic Kannada film Antha. The 1981 action drama stars Rebel Star Ambareesh in a dual role and many reckon this to be a breakthrough film in the late actor's career. To mark Ambareesh's 71st birth anniversary, Antha will be released again in theatres on May 26 and that too in a whole new revised format that includes the addition of the stunning Cinemascope and an alluring 5.1 surround sound system. Fans of the Rebel Star and film lovers, in general, will soon be able to experience the yesteryear classic on the big screen in a never-before-seen manner.

Based on H.K. Anantha Rao's serialized story of the same name, Antha features Ambareesh in the double role of an honest inspector who goes undercover masquerading as his doppelganger Kanwar Lal, a dreaded gangster currently in prison, to unearth the illegal activities. Reportedly, the film was released in theatres after a long and arduous battle against the censor board which had initially pulled up the makers for glorifying violence. Director Rajendra Singh Babu would meet the then-prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, along with the producers to eventually release the film without much hassle. 

Antha was not only a huge commercial success but also became a landmark role in Ambareesh's career. As someone who began his acting career in the 1970s playing mostly negative-shaded roles, his penchant for 'anti-hero' roles earned him the title Rebel Star among the fans.

Antha also stars Lakshmi, Jayamala, Pandari Bai, Vajramuni, Tiger Prabhakar, Sundar Krishna Urs and others with G. K. Venkatesh scoring the music