The flop that will make the Kannada film industry flip. Exactly 50 years after the industry put its foot down and banned all films voiced-over in Kannada, the ambitious Rajinikanth anime Kochadaiiyaan will herald the return of dubbed films. Work on the dubbing and other post-production formalities have started, and the dubbed version of the film is set to hit the screens by the end of February.
Kochadaiiyaan, the film made by his daughter keeping in mind his fan following in Japan and which bombed at the BO, seemed a strategic choice considering the price at which it was coming and, being an animation film, the industry could be eased into accepting the dubbing concept.
The last film to be dubbed into Kannada was in 1965 Mayabazar, originally made in Telugu. The recently- formed 'Dubbing Film Chamber' is behind the efforts. Its president Krishne Gowda wanted to restart dubbing in Kannada with Hollywood films Avatar or Titanic, but he was told that the Hollywood studios would rather do the dubbing and release themselves. The first dubbed film since 1965 will cost Gowda Rs 50 lakh. Mayabazar was eventually dubbed and the landmark film in NTR's career became a milestone in the history of Kannada films for a different reason altogether. The film is based on a story that takes inspiration from the Mahabharata.
