PremiumSapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B skipping festive release; to not make it for Deepavali?
The buzz in industry circles is that Hemanth M Rao’s film is still looking at a November release
Last Updated: 07.40 PM, Oct 17, 2023
If actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty had stuck to his original plan and released Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’s two parts, Side A and Side B 7 weeks apart, he would have been bang in the middle of last minute promotions and release planning now. Side A came out on September 1 and Side B should have been on October 20. Instead, Rakshit was in Delhi today, where he and director Kiranraj K received their awards for the Best Kannada Film for 2021, for their collaboration 777 Charlie, which the former produced and starred in. In late September, hours before Sapta Sagaradaadache Ello Side A came on OTT, Rakshit and director Hemanth M Rao had said that Side B would be pushed ahead by a week and release on October 27. Fighting for screens in an already jam-packed Dasara festive week was not their cup of tea, so a week later would be okay, they reckoned, which would allow them to do a simultaneous release in all languages.
But then as the days passed and there was no news from Rakshit or Hemanth about the film, be it a trailer or songs, etc., prompting speculation that October 27 was also not on the cards. It then emerged that there were delays in the edit of Side B, which, in turn, affected the due date of the visual effects and, hence, another festive release, November 10 for Deepavali, was said to be the next best bet. With Salman Khan’s Tiger 3 and big Tamil films like Jigarthanda Double X, Japan and Raid already lined up for the festival of lights, it is now heard that Rakshit will look at avoiding such a clash.
Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is a film for a niche audience and deserves a bare minimum number of screens, which may not be possible during a festival. While Side A had a decent theatrical outing, following its OTT release, there is a new set of audience as well that is waiting for Side B to release. Whether they will come to theatres or wait for it on OTT again, since it will be there within a month, remains to be seen. For now, the buzz is that the film will most likely still be a November release, but not for Deepavali, with Rakshit expected to make a formal announcement this week.