Kranti: As media ban continues, will Darshan’s Republic Day release suffer?

The first ‘press’ meet for the film had more ‘social media influencers’ in attendance.

Darshan in his look from his next, Kranti

Today, the team of Challenging Star Darshan’s next release, Kranti, had their first public event, wherein they confirmed that the film would indeed be a Republic Day release next year. While the confirmation and the fact that the team was looking at an extensive promotional campaign was manna to the ear of the actor’s fans, the event itself also grabbed eyeballs.

The press meet on Monday evening in Bengaluru was more about new media than conventional media. News channels skipped the event, as did most print publications too. However, over a 100 ‘social media influencers’ were a part of the meet. The absence of mainstream media is in continuation of a ban on Darshan, which has been going on for a while, ever since a voice clip of the actor abusing journalists went viral.

The team of the film seemed unperturbed by the lack of support from mainstream media. On social media, this led to discussions about how the eventual performance of Kranti will either be a lesson for the film team or for the media that is refusing to promote Darshan’s movie. It will also decide how powerful or weak social media is, given that the team of Kranti is primarily depending on Youtubers for support. Kranti, reckon netizens, will be a true test of Darshan’s stardom. In a day and age where lack of promotions is often cited for poor box office performance, the fact that Kranti’s campaign will be led on social media, which a large chunk of his fans do not have access to, will play a major role in how the film does in theatres. All news channels and most newspapers too have banned Darshan, so no promotional material will make it to TV.

Produced by Studio Media House and directed by V Harikrishna, Kranti pairs Darshan with Rachita Ram. The film is gearing up for a box office clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan during the Republic Day holiday.

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