‘Love Mocktail 3’ success: How a small Kannada film withstood the ‘Dhurandhar’ storm

‘Love Mocktail 3’, the latest installment of the hit Kannada franchise from Darling Krishna-Milana Nagaraj, is winning hearts in Karnataka, weathering the challenge of the action-packed juggernaut ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’

Love Mocktail 3, a mid-budget Kannada film, has withstood the Dhurandhar: The Revengestorm. Even as movie buffs were decoding “peak detailing” by director Aditya Dhar in the Hindi espionage action drama, the third instalment of the Love Mocktail franchise quietly completed a terrific opening weekend at the Karnataka box office.

Starring and directed by Darling Krishna, who produced the movie with his actor-wife Milana Nagaraj, the movie jumped onto the date left vacant by Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups. The Yash starrer moved from its original release date of March 19, 2026, thereby avoiding a clash against the sequel of Dhurandhar.

Krishna and Milana saw the development as an opportunity. Distributed by KVN Productions, the mighty banner behind Toxic and the controversial Jana Nayaganstarring Vijay, Love Mocktail 3 was assured of a good screen count to start with.

In the run-up to the release, Krishna and Milana faced the challenge of proving their detractors wrong. Critics of the third part felt the celebrity couple was milking the hit franchise by producing a third film. However, the duo has silenced those who felt the third instalment wasn’t warranted. The biggest response for Love Mocktail 3 has been from the family crowd. The film’s success has once again reignited the debate over the importance of catering to the family audience in the Kannada film industry.

“My film was released on Ugadi, and families wouldn’t prefer to watch something violent and gory,” Krishna told The Hindu, explaining how Dhurandhar: The Revengewasn’t a complete threat to his film’s prospects. The actor-director added that he was clear about his target audience.

“Love Mocktail 3 was aimed at those who enjoy emotionally resonating stories. My first invitation was for the family crowd. It’s not meant for those who love ‘mass’ movies with whistle-worthy scenes. I made a clean film with beautiful moments,” he said.