Ever since the third wave of the pandemic broke out, an announcement of the postponement was expected, but the team waited it out to see if there’d be a change in status quo. But with no word on 100% capacity in movie halls and night curfew still in place, they finally had to take the decision in the film’s best business interest.
A few days ago, when Vikrant Rona producer Manjunath Gowda created quite a stir in an interview wherein he addressed the issues plaguing the Kannada film industry, he had also said that his team was hopeful of meeting the February 24 date with audiences. The release plans, he said, were contingent on the government allowing 100% occupancy in theatres and no curfews. At present, a night curfew is still prevalent in most parts of the state, while theatre occupancy is at 50% only. This does not make business sense for a film like Vikrant Rona, which is slated to be released in at least five languages across the country.
The Anup Bhandari fantasy drama was expected to announce a postponement much earlier, when films like RRR, Radhe Shyam, Jersey, etc. as well as the Kannada film Ek Love Ya, were all pushed ahead, citing logistical difficulties in releasing during a pandemic. But as the days wore on, there was radio silence from the team, perhaps hopeful that just like how weekend curfew was discontinued well before the end of January, 100% theatre occupancy would also be announced. Now, with less than a month to go for their proposed release, it became clear that they just cannot go ahead as planned and decided to push the release ahead.
Taking to social media, the team of Vikrant Rona wrote, “#VikrantRona will meet you on a newer date. Stay Safe!, along with a post explaining the need to postpone the release. It will be interesting to see how the team plans its new schedule, though, given that RRR has already zeroed in on two dates – March 18 and April 28. Both dates are close to the current release date of Rocking Star Yash’s KGF-Chapter 2, and the makers would not want to head into a clash with either of those films.
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