Sudeep's Kotigobba 3 Halted on Release Day, a Huge Embarrassment for a Big Ticket Movie

The most awaited big starrer Kannada movie Kotigobba 3 was stalled on the day of its release. This is the first big movie slated to be released after the theaters were permitted 100 per cent occupancy post second wave. Kichcha Sudeep, the lead actor of the movie has apologized fans for the cancellation and requested them not to cause any damage anywhere for the same.

A movie with more than Rs 25 crore budget, Kotigobba 3 is a third movie of the famous Kotigobba franchise. The first movie was starred by legendary actor Vishnuvardhan. Kotigobba 2 and 3 are helmed by Sudeep as lead actor. Madonna Sebastian has acted opposite Sudeep. It is her first movie in Kannada.

Kotigobba 3 was supposed to release at 6 am in Nartaki Theater in Bengaluru on Thursday. It was termed as ‘Fans’ Show’. Fans’ show was arranged in a few other selected movie halls. Excited fans turned up an hour earlier with flower garlands and sweets to celebrate the release of their favorite actor’s flick after over two years. The first show didn’t open and people stood confused. By around 7.30 am, it was clear that the first day first show won’t happen. But there were hopes of the next show at 10.30 am. Initially, producer Soorappa Babu said it was a technical glitch and will be sorted soon. Fans waited patiently till the morning show which didn’t happen either. The situation was same in 300 theaters across the state.

The ticket booking for the day was suspended on various online portals and the movie team announced refund of ticket amount to all those who booked.

The producers’ guild and the date of release

The major producers of Kannada movie industry aka Sandalwood formed a team and called it ‘Producers’ Guild’ during pandemic. Once Covid restrictions were eased step by step, this team visited Chief Minister and multiple officials and tried hard convincing them to allow 100 per cent occupancy in theaters.

They decided to stay in unity and make the best of whatever situation arrives. There were three big movies waiting for release post second wave namely, Kotigobba 3, Salaga and Bhajarangi 2. All the producers of these three movies sat together and came to a conclusion to support each other. Earlier, it was decided that Salaga will release on October 1, Kotigobba 3 on Oct 14 and Bhajarangi 2 on October 29. But the state government allowed full occupancy in theaters only from October 3.

Now, all movie teams want at least 2 weeks prior release for promotions. Hence Salaga team (Producer: Srikanth) postponed release to 14th October. Soorappa Babu, producer of Kotigobba 3 said he will also postpone release date for October 29. But Bhajarangi 2 (Producer: Jayanna) team didn’t agree to move from their earlier decided date. Hence Kotigobba 3 team also stuck to October 14th, which is today. Since there were no movies of other languages releasing both teams decided to go for release on the same day. Both teams wished each other on social media as well. Salaga starring Duniya Vijay released today without any issue and is running successfully. This is Vijay’s maiden project as director.

Multiple reasons for sudden delay

But the unexpected situation with Kotigobba 3 release has created chaos. Initially, it was told to be a technical glitch. But now industry insiders say that the distributers weren’t paid by the producer and hence they halted the show. No matter what the reason is, the movie is stalled for the day.

Producer Soorappa Babu has stated that this furor occurred because some people ‘cheated’ on him. In the video which is with News18, he has apologized to Sudeep and his fans and said that the movie will release across the state at 6am tomorrow. There are also rumors that a rift between the actor and the producer may also be the reason for today’s issue. Other than one press conference to announce the movie release, Sudeep has not taken part in any promotional campaigns of the movie so far and this has raised a few eyebrows. Kotigobba 3 is directed by Siva Karthikeyan. Sudeep, Madanna Sebastian, Ravi Shankar are the lead actors.

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