Ajith’s Pongal release Viswasam, which has been doing very well at the box office, will now release in Kannada. The makers reached this decision after considering the popularity of the actor in the state.
Marking the fourth collaboration between director Siva and Ajith, Viswasam released on Pongal. Though people were skeptical about the movie’s performance at the box office, as it was clashing with another big movie – Rajinikanth’s Petta, Viswasam managed to keep the cash registers consistently ringing.
Following this, Horizon studios acquired the Kannada rights of the film, and it will now release as Vishwasa. “The dubbing is in progress. We were planning a simultaneous release, but it was not possible. Now the Telugu and Kannada version of Viswasam will simultaneously release as both are getting ready. We need to still get censor clearance, after that we will be announcing the release date,” said Tony, the owner of Horizon studios while talking to DH earlier this month.
Incidentally, it was Ajith’s Yennai Arindhal which was the first Tamil film to be dubbed in Kannada. Directed by Gautham Menon, the movie released as Sathya Dev IPS.
Viswasam is the actor’s fourth movie to release in the language.
The Kannada distributors are very hopeful about the prospects of the movie. “Commando was a success. This (Vishwasa) will be better. The market for dubbed films are opening up and Vishwasa will prove the point. I would say this will open space for dubbing movies in Kannada hereafter.”
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The other major Pongal release Petta will not release in Kannada as Rajinikanth didn’t wish to dub in the language.
Until recently the Kannada film industry had opposed dubbing. It was only after the Competition Commission on India slapped fine that the rule ceased to exist. The producer of Petta had hoped to get the superstar to dub, which was why they had planned a delayed release in the state. However, the actor, fearing a backlash, declined the offer.