Pa Ranjith’s Sarpatta skips theatrical release, to premiere July 22 on Amazon Prime

Pa Ranjith’s Tamil boxing drama Sarpatta, starring Arya in the lead, will open on Amazon Prime. Ranjith confirmed the news on Twitter.

Filmmaker Pa Ranjith’s upcoming Tamil boxing drama Sarpatta has decided to skip theatres and opt for direct-OTT release via Amazon Prime. It was announced on Thursday that the film will premiere July 22 worldwide.

Pa Ranjith's drama is set in the boxing culture of the 1990s in North Chennai.

As part of a thread, Amazon Prime on Thursday unveiled a slate of films that are gearing up for release on their platform. Sarpatta is one among these releases. A poster shared by Amazon confirms that the film will premiere on July 22.

Pa Ranjith, who is best known for films such as Kabali and Kaala, took to Twitter and made the announcement.

Amidst rumours that the film could be the remake of Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz, which was about caste politics and a boxer from a backward community; a source close to Ranjith clarified that it’s an original script.

“The film will be about the boxing culture of the 1990s in North Chennai. It’ll be a very realistic tale,” the source had said.

Arya has extensively worked out to build a ripped body for his character in the film. Not long ago, he teased fans with his workout routine from the shoot in a twitter post. In a video, He made a 150 kg squat look like a cakewalk.

Ranjith had originally planned this movie with Suriya. For reasons unknown, the plan didn’t materialize and Ranjith went ahead and roped in Arya, who has set great standards with his fitness in the industry.

This film marks Ranjith’s return to making a film in the North Chennai setting after two projects with actor Rajinikanth. He had previously made Madras, about the local politics and rowdyism in North Chennai, with Karthi in the lead.