Inspired by ‘KGF’, ‘Kabzaa’ targets global market

Shooting is underway in Bengaluru for multilingual mafia drama

‘Kabzaa’ will be the first ever Kannada film to be dubbed in 10 foreign languages, including Chinese and Korean, according to its director R Chandru.

He had posted the plot online for delegates of the Cannes Film Festival and filmmakers from several countries approached him for dubbing rights.

While the blockbuster hit ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ was made in five Indian languages, 'Kabzaa' will be made in seven--Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Odia and Marathi.

Set between 1946 and 1980, the gangster film features Upendra, Kichcha Sudeep, Chandru, Kabir Singh, Prakash Rai, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Subbaraju, Samuthirakani and John Kokken, stars from film industries across the country.

“Sudeep is thrilled to share the screen with Upendra,” Chandru says. “These are two big stars and I will ensure equal screen presence for them.”

The success of ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ inspired him to think of a pan-Indian film. “We thought our market was limited and made films accordingly. However, ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ has proved that there is a market for big-budget films in Kannada,” he says.

The shooting began in 2019, but it was put on hold because of the pandemic. It resumed in February. A team of 150 workers has worked on 40 sets at Minerva Mills in Bengaluru, rented for the production for three months.

The unit is shooting in Mangaluru, Mumbai, Ranchi and Hyderabad after April.

‘Kabzaa’ has five songs with tunes composed by Ravi Basrur, who also scored the music for 'KGF'.