Yuva Rajkumar’s launchpad, Yuva, pushed to early 2024

In March this year, when Hombale Films officially announced the launch vehicle of Yuva Rajkumar, the grandson of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar and son of actor Raghavendra Rajkumar, it came with a promise. Called Yuva, the film directed by Santhosh Ananddram, would be in theatres on December 22. But if the latest rumours in industry circles are anything to go by, the young actor’s debut will be delayed.

In the last few weeks, there have been whispers about Yuva’s date with audiences being taken up by the banner’s now delayed Salaar. Hombale Films is yet to confirm the latest release date of Salaar Ceasefire, but ever since it was postponed, December 22 was seen as a possibility, given that the makers had blocked the date for one of their films. Salaar was reportedly postponed owing to delays in post-production, with some reports also stating that director Prashant Neel has been reshooting portions in the climax for better effect. This week, multiple trade analysts all but confirmed that Salaar was looking at a head-on clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki, thereby taking up the slot fixed for Yuva.

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Moreover, it is also being said that Yuva is still in shooting stages and may not finish in time for a December release. Instead, it is now being heard that the makers are targeting a mid-March release, closer to March 17, as a tribute to the late Puneeth Rajkumar on his birth anniversary. A family drama, Yuva also stars Kantara fame Sapthami Gowda and Achyuth Kumar, among others. The film has music by Ajaneesh Loknath.

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Incidentally, Yuva Rajkumar’s launch was earlier meant to be with a period action film called Yuva Ranadheera Kanteerava, directed by Puneeth Rudranag, for which they’d even shot a nearly 5-minute long action-packed first-look teaser. This film, with music by Ravi Basrur, was later shelved, with Hombale Films then stepping in to launch the actor. Given that Santhosh Ananddram, who had done two films with the late Puneeth Rajkumar to great effect – Rajkumara and Yuvarathnaa – and that he was to do another with the Power Star when the actor passed away, it made sense for the banner to pair the filmmaker with Yuva instead.