For a long time, the unofficial ban on other language movies being dubbed into Kannada was being followed by the Sandalwood industry. However, this did not prevent Kannada films being dubbed into other Indian languages. Two major releases of this year—KGF and Kurukshetra—were dubbed in several Indian languages, including Hindi. The films were even separately shot in a few language.
This multi-lingual approach is helping Sandalwood movies to reach a wider audience across the nation.
Taking this trend further, the much-awaited Sudeep-starrer Pailwaan is set to be released in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi, apart from the original Kannada version, in September.
Pailwaan, a sports-centred, action thriller, helmed by cinematographer-turned-director S Krishna stars Sudeep in the lead and marks the Kannada debut of Bollywood star Suniel Shetty. This is the second Krishana-Sudeep project after the 2017 film Hebbuli.
Sudeep has been hailed by fans and peers for the physical transformation that he underwent to play the role of a wrestler in the movie. The trailer suggests that Pailwaan is the story of a traditional wrestler who eventually turns into a pugilist. The movie is a box office experiment of sorts as there has been no sports-centred movies from Sandalwood in the recent past. Most of the mainstream Kannada films are either about violence or romance, barring a few new age directors who are experimenting with fresh subjects.
Produced by director Krishna’s wife Swapna, Pailwaan's cast include Aakanksha Singh, Sharath Lohitashwa and Sushant Singh in the lead roles. Popular Kannada music director Arjun Janya has scored the music and Karunakara is the cinematographer.
As dubbing and multi-lingual versions are benefiting Kannada films in terms of box office revenue and talent spread, the industry is slowly accepting non-Kannada movies to be dubbed in Kannada.
