Martin

Martin is a 2024 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by A. P. Arjun, from a story by Arjun Sarja, and produced by Uday K. Mehta and Suraj Uday Mehta. It stars Dhruva Sarja in a dual role, alongside Vaibhavi Shandilya, Anveshi Jain, Sukrutha Wagle, Achyuth Kumar and Nikitin Dheer. Wikipedia

Release date: October 11, 2024 (India)

Director: A. P. Arjun

Budget: ₹120 crore

Box office: ₹25.30 crore (net)

Language: Kannada

Music by: Mani Sharma (songs); Ravi Basrur (score)

Fearing a copyright strike on his YouTube review of the Kannada movie Martin, a Kannada content creator avoided taking the movie’s name and addressed the film as Mortien, the popular pest control product. Reviewers and the film team have been at odds since the action thriller starring Dhruva Sarja hit theatres on October 11, 2024. The YouTube film-reviewing community has been the worst affected by the controversy.

Martin, directed by AP Arjun, got praise for its highly ambitious action set pieces, but the film drew flak for the loud characterisation of the protagonist, essayed by Dhruva Sarja. The film, released during the Dasara weekend, got a terrific opening but soon stirred up a row when several YouTube creators began to take down their negative reviews of the movie.

“I will never review a Kannada movie other than the films featuring the Shettys (Raj, Rishab and Rakshit) who have been forthcoming of praise and criticism,” wrote Anmol Jamwal on X. Anmol talks about cinema and reviews films on his channel Tried & Refused Productions, which has 1.22 million subscribers.