Sonu Gowda and Nishan Nanaiah’s film on domestic abuse, Wedding Gift, to release in theatres on July 8

It looks like Kannada filmmakers are trying to cram in as many releases as possible before the next biggie from Sandalwood - Vikrant Rona. Over the next few weeks, close to 15 films have been officially announced as theatrical releases. Wedding Gift, directed and produced by Vikram Prabhu is one of them and will release on July 8. As of now, there are four other films that have zeroed in on the same date.

This is a thriller between a husband and wife and is a reflection of things happening in society – the problems between a couple, domestic violence, divorce, etc. The main theme of the film is the Indian Penal Code Sec 498A, a law that empowers women to file cases against their in-laws/husband if there is domestic violence. While the section was included with good intentions, to safeguard women from dowry-related abuse, etc., over time, the section has been used, or rather misused. There are a lot of cases like that now. And what we have explored is one such and what happens thereafter. Wedding Gift is a revenge drama, so how the couple deals with the aftermath of the case is a major plot point of the film,” explains Vikram.

The debutant director, who had assisted Rajendra Singh Babu on Love way back in 2004, and then went on to have a profession outside of films says that Wedding Gift went on floors on November 15 last year, with the intention of finishing the film in one schedule by December 31. The team managed it with one day to spare.

Veteran actress Prema, who plays a lawyer in the film, a first for her, says that when the story was narrated to her, she thought it was different and was quite impressed with the message it has. The film also stars Sonu Gowda, Nishan Nanaiah as the warring couple, along with Pavitra Lokesh and Achyuth Kumar in pivotal characters.