Kaatera: Did you know? Darshan & Tharun Kishore Sudhir initially planned a sports-based film with the same title

The word 'Kaatera' has taken over the internet. For the unversed, it happens to be the title of Challenging Star Darshan's next and 56th outing, which also marks his third collaboration with Tharun Kishore Sudhir. Ahead of the title reveal, the anticipation among the fans had surged quite high with 'Kaatera' and 'Chowdayya' swirling around on social media as two potential titles - although the makers initially denied that neither of the two was applicable, the eventual title poster saw Kaatera boldly written on it.

Speaking to a media outlet, Tharun Sudhir shared that Kaatera refers to Goddess Kaateramma and also 'Kaati', a term that means bison in Kannada. Considering that the film is set in a village in the 1970s, the makers felt that the title was apt for the story it is centred on.

However, did you know that Tharun Kishore Sudhir and Darshan were initially set to collaborate on a sports-based film carrying the same title? Yes, according to a report that dates back to 2018, the duo was meant to work on a project after Chowka and the team reckoned 'Kaatera' to be the best choice for the subject in hand. However, as the report adds, the Challenging Star preferred to work on family drama instead which, eventually, turned out to be Roberrt. It is unclear whether the sports-based film is still on the cards but the title Kaatera has sustained thus far, lending itself to a starkly different film.

In his more recent media interactions, Tharun Sudhir divulged that he was inspired by a real-life incident in conceiving Kaatera. The very first poster of the film, which was tentatively titled 'D56' at the time, depicted a dog leading a huge pack of sheep with the caption 'Hindiruvavarige Daari, Mundiruvavarige Jawabdaari' suggesting that Darshan's character sees through an important social change of some kind. And to make things more interesting, the title poster reveals the 46-year-old actor in a never-before-seen avatar as he wields an axe and dons a rugged 'rural' attire.