Shivarajkumar vs Sudeep: Box office clash on Varamahalakshmi

Looks like two stars of the Kannada industry — Shivarajkumar and Sudeep — who played the leads in Prem’s recent directorial, The Villain, will now have a face-off at the box office. Century star’s film, tentatively titled Anand and directed by P Vasu, and Sudeep’s Pailwaan directed by S Krishna, will both hit theatres on Varamahalakshmi festival (August 9).  

Anand producer Yogi Dwarakish had earlier decided to go ahead with an August 9 release, which he fixed in December during the film's launch. Now, Krishna too plans to release his film on the same date. On Ugadi, the director of Pailwaan took to Twitter to make the announcement.

Pailwaan, which stars Sudeep in the role of a wrestler and boxer, is now in the post-production stage. It features Akanksha Singh as the female lead, and also includes Suniel Shetty and Sushant Singh in the cast. The film will get a simultaneous release in different languages, including Hindi, Bhojpuri and Marathi. 

Anand, which is currently rolling, will be the 52^nd film made under Dwarakish Pictures. This is the second time Shivanna is associating with P Vasu after Shivalinga. The cast also includes Rachita Ram in the lead and Anant Nag in a pivotal role.