As the festive season is upon us, Kannada industry is gearing up to add to the festivities with multiple releases. This week, the much-awaited The Villain will hit the screens. As advance bookings for the film have been selling out rapidly, we’re told that the first show of the Shivarajkumar-Sudeep-starrer, directed by Prem, will be screened at 12 am on Thursday.

The early show will be held at single screen theatres across Bengaluru and some parts of Karnataka, including Mysuru, Hubli, Hosapete. Previously, star-studded films have been slotted as early 4 am, but this is the first time that a screening will take place at midnight. “This is very rare,” says Prem, the director of the film.

With cut-outs of Shivarajkumar and Sudeep adorning theatres across Karnataka, the film is setting high expectations. The Villain, which marks the debut of Amy Jackson in Kannada, has music by Arjun Janya and cinematography by Gire.