Kiccha Sudeep’s promise: ‘In the next 18 months, there will be at least…’

If things had gone as per plan, Kiccha Sudeep’s film Max would have been in theatres in January 2024. The film had gone on floors in July 2023 and given that it is a tale of events in one night, should have been wrapped up in quick time. But then there were delays owing to floods in Chennai, after which there were some unavoidable hurdles from the production house, followed by difficulties in scheduling the dates of the artistes on board the film.

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Eventually, Max was ready for release in August 2024, but for reasons best known to the production house, it was decided to bring it to theatres for Christmas, thereby making it 2 and a half years since Sudeep was seen onscreen (if one discounts his cameo appearances).

Sudeep on why he doesn't have story back-ups

The Kannada superstar has always followed a one film at a time schedule, but the fact that he’s only on film number 46 after 28 years in the industry tells him that it’s time to pick up the pace. “In the next 18 months, there will be at least 2 releases; that’s what I am trying. I have okayed the scripts and hope that it works out the way it’s been planned. In fact, I want to get some work done; otherwise, what will I do sitting at home?” he said during a recent interaction with the media.

His immediate priority is Billa Ranga Baasha, which marks his second collaboration with director Anup Bhandari after Vikrant Rona. There is another film, which he refuses to divulge at this point, but should go on floors simultaneously. Sudeep says that he has okayed at least 3 stories in principle, so there’s no dearth of offers.

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Why then are there massive breaks between his films? There have, after all, been announcements of possible collaborations, which have not panned out. “What excites you today, may not do so tomorrow. I believe in doing one film at a time and then examining what kind of movies are working for audiences, etc. There maybe stories that were okayed a couple of years ago that will be outdated by the time you are in a position to take it up Or, it could be that a similar thread has been explored by another filmmaker already,” Sudeep explains.

The actor adds that when big investments are involved, he cannot afford to take chances with such subjects. Instead of maintaining a backlog of stories to fall back on, Sudeep would rather finish a project, then listen to a new narration, which, if okay, will then be quickly developed and taken on floors. That’s the style he prefers, he says.