Kiccha Sudeep’s much-awaited next, Max, was first said to be an Independence Day release, the minute it became apparent that Shivarajkumar’s Bhairathi Ranagal was vacating that date and moving ahead. A source from the crew of the film confirmed the same, but then said that post-production work would not finish in time to give the team enough time for a promotional spree.

The next possible date that one heard was September 5/6, in time for Ganesha Chaturthi. It would also be a birthday gift from the actor, who is turning a year older on September 2. The problem with this is that Max will have a direct clash with Thalapathy Vijay’s GOAT (The Greatest of All Time). The Venkat Prabhu film is releasing on a massive scale on September 5.

Max to clash with GOAT?

As much as Max is seen as a Kannada original, it is a film produced by a Tamil filmmaker, which a distributor says is reason enough for them to not even attempt a clash with GOAT. Earlier this week, feelers were sent out to overseas distributors with pricings for various regions and a tentative October-November release plan. However, as of July 17, they received fresh communication from the office of producer Kalaippuli Thanu, but this time for an August 15 release.

While Independence Day is perfect for an India release because there is no major competition, the same cannot be said of the overseas market, where it is summer vacation in most areas, meaning that the target audience – Indians – will be headed home or on holiday.

The recent Max teaser that came out had no update about the release, hinting only at a – 'Soon, Sooner, Soonest' possibility. Meanwhile, Samyukta Hornad, who is a part of the film was recently quoted as saying that Max is a film that’s been made as fan service and that they will not be disappointed.

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