In a first, dubbed version of Rajinikanth’s Petta to release in Kannada

How about watching Rajinikanth’s upcoming film Petta in Kannada? Yes, this will soon be a reality as preparations are going on in full-swing for the dubbing of the film in Kannada. The film, written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran, is slated for release on January 10.

Serious discussions are on to have the Tamil film simultaneously released in Kannada as well as other languages. Our source tells us, “The dialogues for the Kannada version have already been done, and dubbing is in process. Now, only an official confirmation from the producers is awaited.”

The upcoming Telugu film Vinaya Vidheya Rama, starring Ram Charan and directed by Boyapati Srinu, is also slated for release during Pongal and it too might see a simultaneous release in Kannada.

The Kannada film KGF was dubbed and released nationwide in four different languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam), with all the versions getting a release in Karnataka too, and this is credited with paving the way for more such simultaneous releases. “KGF paved the way, and this has given the cue to various production houses and distributors in the state, who are contemplating the release of Tamil film Petta in Kannada too,” our source adds.

For a long time, the dubbing debate has been on and the Kannada industry has had a divided opinion on it. In fact, the industry opened up to the idea when Fast and Furious 8 was dubbed and released in Kannada as Vega Matthu Udvega 8.  Before that came Naanu Nanna Preeti, which was a dubbed version of the Hindi film, My Husband’s Wife. Then followed the Tamil film Yennai Arindhaal released as Sathyadev IPS and Aarambam released as Dheera in 2017. In 2018, Vivegam starring Ajith was released as Commando. Petta will, however, be the first film to see a simultaneous release in Kannada too.

Recently, CE had reported that Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce was contemplating the simultaneous release of other language films in Kannada and this might be the first move towards that.