Will Rishab Shetty release his film Kantara in Tulu too?

Since he began promotions of his latest directorial, Kantara, actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty has been clear that it would be releasing in theatres in Kannada only, with subtitles, given how rooted the subject is in the culture and ethos of the Mangaluru region. While he has incorporated a Tulu folk song in the film, the spoken language of the characters is in the Kannada dialect of people from the region, Rishab had reiterated. Dubbing the film to other languages, if at all, would happen only for its OTT release subsequently, he added.

But then, today, a poster of Kantara went viral, with what appeared to be Tulu lettering on it. Supposedly a fan-made poster to urge Rishab to consider dubbing it in Tulu, it was widely shared, with a rumour fast spreading that Kantara may actually release in the language. The rumour gained credence after Rishab re-tweeted it. Considering that Karthik Gowda from Hombale Films tweeted days ago that he’s seen the final version of Kantara, could Rishab be toiling away to bring out a Tulu version too in time for September 30? He had, after all, posted an image of him with music director Ajaneesh Loknath, after what appeared to have been yet another sleepless night at work to bring the film to audiences.

Kantara, which has Rishab in the lead, along with Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar and others, is releasing in theatres world-wide in Kannada on September 30. Although the film has stiff competition at the box office from biggies like Naane Varuven, Ponniyin Selvan-1 and Vikram Vedha, beside the other Kannada release of the week, Thothapuri -Part 1, Kantara, we hear, will open in over 250 theatres across Karnataka.

The film, which has been certified U/A, will begin its box office journey on Thursday evening with a limited set of paid premiers at select locations. The premieres will also be held in Kochi, Kasargod, Hyderabad and Chennai on September 29 evening.