Century Star Shivarajkumar, one of the few Kannada actors to consistently do 2-3 films a year, was expected to bring his second home production Bhairathi Ranagal to theatres this Independence Day. The team had announced that it would be in theatres on August 15, in a direct clash with Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2. However, in the last few days, the buzz in Gandhinagar has been that the Narthan directorial is unlikely to meet this date with audiences.

Bhairathi Ranagal delayed?

This, says a source, is because Shivarajkumar took time off from his shooting schedules to campaign for his wife Geetha Shivarajkumar, who’d contested in the recent Lok Sabha elections from Shivamogga. According to this source, director Narthan apparently needs at least another month to wrap up principal photography, following which there will be some patch work as well. As such, the team is unsure of making it for the August 15 release date and was looking at September 27 as the next date.

Bhairathi Ranagal alternate release dates

However, now that Jr NTR’s Devara has booked September 21, a clash with Martin on October 11 was on the cards. As of now, team Bhairathi Ranagal has not officially announced a postponement, and efforts are on to stick to the original plan, now that Pushpa 2 is also moving out of the August 15 slot. Shivarajkumar has recently joined the sets of Rohit Padaki’s Uttarakaanda, which also stars Dhananjaya in the lead. The actor also needs to wind up 45, composer Arjun Janya’s directorial debut, before picking up a new project from his long list of commitments.

Bhairathi Ranagal, meanwhile, is the prequel and sequel to Mufti, exploring how Shivarajkumar’s character came to be a dreaded gangster and saviour for the people of his village. The Hattrick Hero had said earlier that he is keen to re-release Mufti in theatres ahead of Bhairathi Ranagal.

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