Kichcha Sudeep's 'Phantom' renamed 'Vikrant Rona'

Bengaluru: In a dramatic turn of events, Kichcha Sudeep's Phantom, directed by Anup Bhandari, which is close to completion, has been renamed Vikrant Rona. In an announcement on Thursday, the filmmakers said the title was changed to suit the character of the lead actor Sudeep who plays Vikrant Rona in the action-adventure-thriller. The title logo and a video giving a glimpse into the world of the character will be unveiled on January 31 at Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to mark silver jubilee of Sudeep's acting career.

Speaking to The Hans India, Manjunath Gowda, producer of the film, said, "Celebrating the making of Vikrant Rona on Burj Khalifa will be the pride of Indians. We as a team are set out to create new records. I guess it would be the first movie in the world to have a title logo launch on Burj Khalifa. Sudeep would be the first actor to have his 2000-ft virtual cut-out unveiled at the iconic building. It would be the first-ever movie to have a video of almost 180 seconds screened at the tallest structure in the world. Another first would be Sudeep celebrating the completion of 25 years as actor. The event will be live streamed in India."

The event will be live streamed on Kichcha Sudeep's social media handle and on Kichcha Creations YouTube channel at 9 p.m. on January 31.

Meanwhile, the team has claimed that a special announcement on why the title was changed from Phantom to Vikrant Ron will also be announced on January 24 by director Anup Bhandari through a video.

The team is now left with the shooting of two songs. The adventure action-drama was one of the first Indian films for which shooting resumed post lockdown in June. And since then, Sudeep and the rest of the team members have been shooting non-stop. The makers planned to shoot one song sequence, for which a huge set will be created in Bengaluru by art director Shivakumar.

Sudeep plays a police officer named Vikranth Rona in the film. The big-budget project being produced by Shalini Manjunath under the banner Shaline Arts and co-produced by Alankar Pandian will be the next second film after Kotigobba-3 for Sudeep. It also features Nirup Bhandari as Sanjeev Gambir and Neetha Ashok as Aparna Ballal aka Panna. The film marks big-screen debut of the TV serial actor. The music for the film is scored by Ajaneesh B Loknath and cinematography is by DOP William David. The two have come together for the first time for a Sudeep-starrer.