Kesari 2 – Bad Idea For a Good Movie

The trend of releasing patriotic Hindi films in regional languages is picking up, but the film industry lacks the right strategy. The uneven planning and improper release timing are only making it worse. Now, Akshay Kumar’s Kesari 2 is hitting the screens in Telugu, and it comes at a time when the film has almost lost its craze.

Akshay Kumar’s Kesari, released in 2019, was centered on the legendary Battle of Saragarhi and was declared a big hit back then. As a spiritual successor, the makers recently came up with Kesari: Chapter 2, a courtroom drama that portrays the legal aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

In Kesari: Chapter 2, Akshay Kumar plays the legendary lawyer and freedom fighter C. Sankaran Nair. R. Madhavan portrays his courtroom adversary. Ananya Panday appears as a young, idealistic junior lawyer. The film was released in Hindi on April 18th and grossed over 100 Cr rupees at the box office. The team could not plan early and release the Telugu version, but had taken almost a month’s time to bring the regional release.

Earlier this year, historical drama Chhaava was dubbed into Telugu, but it also came out when almost all the film’s buzz was coming down. The reception of Chhaava in Telugu is poor, compared to what is expected. Now, similarly, Kesari 2 also lost all the buzz since it’s been a month already. Most of the people watched the Hindi version, and the delay in the film’s release would result in lower footfalls.

The Hindi film industry must take a cue from the South in this case. Usually, even if it is a small film from the South, and when attempted pan-India, irrespective of reach and buzz, the Hindi version would be released. The idea to release the film later in another language, in the current times, is not likely to help.