James Cameron’s Avatar, which released 13 years ago, was a worldwide blockbuster. The sequel of the epic sci-fi film, set to release on December 16, is generating massive buzz.
The film’s trailer recently received rave reviews but a section of fans were miffed that the film isn’t releasing in Kannada. The film, titled Avatar: The Way of Water will be out in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu in 3D and IMAX. This irked fans, especially the regular supporters of dubbing films in Kannada.
On Thursday and Friday, #Avatar2InKannada was trending with over 12000 people tweeting about it. “There is an unwritten code in KFI (Kannada Film Industry). Anyone who steps out of line faces the consequences. Do you see how they troubled a star actor’s recent releases because he worked in movies that were dubbed in Kannada,” Tweeted Ganesh Chetan in a response to a Tweet that demanded a stand from Kannada actors on the issue.
Ganesh, part of the Kannada Grahakara Koota, a consumer forum that fought a legal battle against the dubbing ban in the Kannada industry, later said on Twitter that they will start the #DubbingInKannada campaign after a two-year hiatus to fight for the release of ‘Avatar 2’ in Kannada.
“Kannada films have reached the world. World cinema must also be accessible to Kannadigas in Kannada,” Tweeted filmmaker Suni. A similar dubbing-related controversy was witnessed online when only one show in Kannada was given for the Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa’ in Bengaluru.
Dubbing is still in an early stage in the Kannada film industry ever since the six-decade informal ban was lifted four years ago by Competitive Commission of India (CCI). Meanwhile, Cameron is planning a third and fourth installments of ‘Avatar’, making it one of the most popular franchises from Hollywood.
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