Will Sudeep’s Kotigobba 3 keep its date with audiences on October 14?

Earlier this month, the team of Kichcha Sudeep’s next, Kotigobba 3, had announced that the film would release in theatres during the Dasara festivities in October. Since then, the buzz has been that they had zeroed in on October 14 as the D-day. While the team is pushing hard to meet this date, with post-production currently on in full swing, sources in the know say that the release date will be finalized only after the state government allows movie halls to operate at full capacity.

Kotigobba 3 is directed by debutant Shiva Karthik and will mark Mollywood actress Madonna Sebastian’s Kannada film debut. The film will also have P Ravi Shankar, Aftab Shivdasani, Shraddha Das, Tabla Nani and Rajesh Nataranga among others, in pivotal roles, with Ashika Ranganath doing a special number. The film’s music has been scored by Arjun Janya.

During its making, Kotigobba 3, which has been written by Sudeep, had its fair share of hiccups along the way. Earlier this year, it was reported that the makers had been legally warned against using any footage shot in Poland, over non-payment of dues to the line-producers there. In fact, a video of the making of the film had to be put together without glimpses of the 10-day schedule in Poland.

In the time since its completion, there have been multiple rumours that Kotigobba 3 would head for an OTT release. Producer Soorappa Babu has rubbished these rumours, claiming that it would not be a wise business decision, given that the film was made on a big budget and had the potential to recover all of it and maybe even more, provided theatres are fully functional. In fact, the makers of Sudeep’s next, Vikrant Rona, had foregone an earlier release date to make way for Kotigobba 3 to hit theatres first.