Varun Tej, Ritika Naik-starrer ‘Korean Kanakaraju’ to hit screens on August 7

Hyderabad, July 10 (IANS) The makers of director Merlapaka Gandhi’s eagerly awaited horror comedy film ‘Korean Kanakaraju’, featuring actor Varun Tej in the lead, on Friday announced that the film would now hit screens worldwide on August 7 this year.

Varun Tej took to his X timeline to share the release date announcement poster and wrote, “7th August 2026… Entertainment Guaranteed. #KoreanKanakaraju #KOKA.”

It may be recalled that the makers had released a Behind The Scenes video of the immensely popular single ‘Kamsahamnida’ from the film in April this year. The song, the music of which has been scored by Thaman, was released on April 11. The makers had announced the commencement of the film’s final schedule of shooting in Korea in March this year. Sources close to the unit of the film had then informed IANS that the team had carefully planned a crucial one-week schedule in Korea.

During this phase, the makers filmed songs along with a few key scenes. The schedule featured Varun Tej, Ritika Nayak, and Satya. Sequences were shot in vibrant Korean locations during this schedule.

Mounted on a lavish budget, the film blends horror and comedy with a refreshing cross-cultural twist, set across both Indian and Korean backdrops.

Sources claim Varun Tej will be seen in a completely new avatar and that his character will be unlike any that he has played before.

The film had already generated strong buzz with the title glimpse released on Varun Tej’s birthday.

The title glimpse opens with a photographer from India being tortured by policemen in Korea. The cops want the photographer to give them details of the location of a person they know as Kanakaraju. Initially, the photographer struggles to understand as he does not know the language. When an interpreter(Ritika Nayak) comes and translates what the cops seek from him, he says he does not know where Kanakaraju is. But then, on a full moon night, a possessed Kanakaraju (Varun Tej) walks into the station and hacks the Korean cops to death with a Samurai sword. He laughs in an eerie fashion and says “I’m back” in Korean, prompting the photographer to say, “This Kanakaraju isn’t our Kanakaraju…”

The film has cinematography by Manoj Reddy Katasani and editing by Satyaa G.

–IANS

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